Criminalizing Poverty: Homeless in Harlem Complain of NYPD Harassment Posted on June 19, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in Salon Living on the streets of East Harlem, Jazmin Berges wasn’t surprised to watch NYPD officers dump her belongings into a garbage truck. It was last summer, and police had demanded that she and her friends, sitting in Marcus Garvey Park, leave. When Berges, acc ..Read More
Cuomo Puts Affordable Housing Development in Jeopardy Posted on June 17, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in New York Slant In an otherwise sleepy end-of-session up in Albany, one of the supposed hallmarks of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s finalized budget this spring – $1.9 billion for affordable housing and supportive housing for the homeless – is being held hostage, potentially jeopa ..Read More
These Are the Faces of America’s Growing Youth Homeless Population Posted on June 17, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in The Washington Post Gladys Thompson became homeless before she was old enough to drive or hold a job. She remembers begging for food and water, and pleading with friends for a place to sleep. And she is not alone: More than 1.3 million U.S. students were homeless in 2013-2014, tw ..Read More
Was Cuomo Ever Serious About Solving Homelessness? Supportive Housing Funding is Nowhere to be Seen Posted on June 15, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in New York Daily News It’s been 154 days since Gov. Cuomo promised bold action on homelessness. Now, days before the end of the legislative session in Albany, not a single penny has been spent. What’s perhaps most disheartening is that it now appears he may have never i ..Read More
While Advocates Push for Action on Supportive Housing, Hevesi Says Deal Tied to 421-A, Other Negotiations Posted on June 14, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in City & State With just a few days left in the state legislative session, advocates and lawmakers are pressing Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders to reach a deal to follow through on a memorandum of understanding to fund supportive housing in New York City. A coaliti ..Read More
Faith Leaders Push State Leaders on Housing MOU Posted on June 14, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in State of Politics With the legislative session entering its final three days, a coalition of more than 130 faith-based leaders on Tuesday is calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the top lawmakers in the Senate and Assembly to sign a memorandum of understanding backing 6,000 units o ..Read More
With Homeless Students on the Rise, Will New Education Law Help? Posted on June 13, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in U.S. News & World Report Homeless students are one of the fastest-growing subgroups of students in the U.S. And while they are much more likely to fall off track and eventually drop out of school, they are also notoriously difficult to identify and subsequently help. More than 1.3 mil ..Read More
State Leaders Should Keep Promise to Homeless Posted on June 11, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in Democrat & Chronicle Every night, roughly 80,000 New Yorkers confront homelessness. Anyone who has walked through Washington Square Park knows exactly how pervasive this problem has become. The good news is we are very close to breaking the cycle of poverty for tens of thousands o ..Read More
Fate of $2 Billion in State Housing Funds Unclear as Session Nears End Posted on June 13, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in Gotham Gazette Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature allocated $2 billion to spend on 100,000 units of affordable and supportive housing in this year’s budget, which was agreed to on April 1. But they failed to include specifics — details of how that money woul ..Read More