‘We’re Not Trash:’ Homeless People Fight Stigma in Moving Video Posted on October 2, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Huffington Post Homelessness is on the decline in the U.S., but people who are still living without shelter say the raging stigma they face hasn’t changed much at all. BuzzFeed recently interviewed a number of homeless people to give them the chance to address the standard ..Read More
Rise in Overcrowded NYC Apartments Shows Need for More Housing, Says Controller Scott Stringer Posted on October 5, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in New York Daily News Talk about your huddled masses. The last few years have seen a huge surge in the number of apartments and homes deemed to be “overcrowded,” a new report by Controller Scott Stringer has found. There were 272,000 overcrowded units in New York City housing n ..Read More
Behind New York’s Right to Shelter Policy Posted on September 30, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Marketplace As New Yorkers face rising rents and stagnant wages, the city has seen a spike in homelessness. Around 60,000 New Yorkers currently live in municipal shelters. They are guaranteed a “Right to Shelter” that stems from an unprecedented 35-year-old la ..Read More
Needy Families Thrive Thanks to School Supplies Drive Posted on September 30, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in The Forum Borough President Melinda Katz last week thanked Queens residents for donating backpacks and school supplies to “Project: Back to School,” an initiative of the Coalition for the Homeless to provide the much-needed items to the 24,000 schoolchildren who sta ..Read More
Richard Gere Produces, Stars in Film Asking: What Happens When You Hit Bottom in NY? Posted on September 30, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in New York Observer Richard Gere belongs to a tiny group of actors of dubious but powerful distinction: The four who have been picked, more than once, as People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive.” In a beauty and box office contest that’s been held since 1985, it’s just him ..Read More
City Enrolls Record Number of Pre-K Homeless Posted on September 29, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in WNYC More than half of New York City’s homeless children are enrolled in the city’s free, full time pre-kindergarten program this school year, up from 45 percent in 2014 and 31 percent in 2013. Among the 65,000 4-year-olds enrolled, 1,175 live in city s ..Read More
Young, LGBT and Homeless in Age of Broken Windows Posted on September 29, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Newsweek Police officers often harm and harass rather than protect and serve LGBT youth who have traded sex for shelter in New York City, a new study says. The Urban Institute report, “Locked In: Interactions With the Criminal Justice and Child Welfare Systems fo ..Read More
City Nearly Doubles Budget for Lawyers Who Help NYers Fight Evictions Posted on September 28, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Gothamist Mayor de Blasio today announced that he will nearly double his spending on legal assistance for tenants facing eviction, with an emphasis on New Yorkers living in the city’s 15 most rapidly-gentrifying neighborhoods—Crown Heights, Bushwick, and Bed-Stu ..Read More
Richard Gere on What it Was Like to Panhandle on the Streets of New York Posted on September 29, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Los Angeles Confidential With the debut of his longtime passion project, Time Out of Mind, H’wood insider/outsider Richard Gere talks about the homelessness epidemic, his work for Tibet, and what he learned panhandling on the streets of New York. At 66 years old and after nearly 40 ..Read More
