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04.17.2025
On April 16th, the Network joined NYC Council Member Carlina Rivera, the Fortune Society, Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) and the Close Rikers campaign for a Jail is Not a Home rally in support of two pieces of legislation: Intro 1100 which expands access to supportive housing for people impacted by the criminal legal system and Resolution 371 which would provide money to incarcerated individuals upon release. In addition, rally speakers called for oversight of the Independent Rikers Commission's Blueprint to Close Rikers pushing back on delays and demanding real investment in alternatives that will pave the way to a smaller jail population and healthier and safer communities.
After the rally, Network Director of Policy Tierra Labrada testified at the City Council Committee on Criminal Justice Hearing to testify in support of Intro 1100 and said, "We are in strong support of Intro 1100. New York City has the power to redefine what counts as chronic homelessness in our own programs and we are choosing not to. That choice has real human consequences.
Every year, thousands of New Yorkers leave incarceration with nowhere to go and many were homeless before they are in jail. Because they were incarcerated for 90 days, their homelessness status re-sets, disqualifying them from supportive housing. That is an active exclusion and we are paying for it twice: first in cost of incarceration and then again when people are forced into shelters to prove homelessness. Let's be clear: jail is not a home."
Read full testimony HERE.