Categories: New York City
03.18.2024
On March 11th Network Associate Director of Advocacy Tierra Labrada testified at the City Council General Welfare Preliminary Budget Hearing and Network Executive Director Pascale Leone testified at the City Council Housing and Buildings Preliminary Budget Hearing. Both testimonies focused on improving the NYC 15/15 initiative, #JustPay for the human services workforce and fully staffing critical city agencies associated with developing and operating supportive housing. The Network stressed that the NYC 15/15 Initiative is falling short of its goal to create 15,000 units by 2030 due to its reliance on the scattered site model and urged the Council to support the adoption of the Network’s NYC 15/15 Reallocation Plan.
On March 21st Network Associate Director of Engagement Joelle Ballam-Schwan testified at the Joint Health and Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction Preliminary Budget Hearing. She thanked Chair Lee for her support around NYC 15/15 as well as the entire Council for the COLA adding that we hope to see it apply to all supportive housing programs in the details. She also advocated for reallocating NYC 15/15 and expanding eligibility. Lastly, as a steering committee member of Correct Crisis Intervention Today (CCIT)-NYC, advocating for a peer-led, nonpolice mental health crisis response system, she urged Council to adopt the best practices and features of the CCIT-NYC model by focusing on placing trained peers on the B-HEARD response teams as well as restore prior B-HEARD PEG cuts.
See the Network’s General Welfare testimony HERE.
See the Network’s Housing and Buildings testimony HERE.
See the Network’s Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction testimony HERE.