Professional Documents
Culture Documents
November
11,
2010
Dear
Friend:
I
am
writing
to
share
some
exciting
news
–
as
of
November
11th,
the
NYC
AIDS
Housing
Network
(NYCAHN)
will
now
be
known
as
VOCAL
New
York
(Voices
Of
Community
Activists
&
Leaders).
This
letter
explains
why
we
decided
to
“rebrand,”
provides
an
overview
of
our
current
programs,
and
describes
some
of
our
recent
victories
and
upcoming
plans.
Please
NOTE
–
NYCAHN
will
remain
a
vital
program
within
VOCAL
New
York
and
will
now
be
known
as
the
New
York
AIDS
Housing
Network
in
order
to
reflect
our
statewide
efforts
to
expand
housing
assistance
for
people
living
with
HIV/AIDS.
We
remain
committed
to
strong
advocacy
on
behalf
of
HIV/AIDS
housing
programs
during
this
difficult
budget
environment.
Our
expanded
mission
as
VOCAL
New
York
is
to
be
a
statewide
grassroots
membership
organization
building
power
among
low-‐income
people
who
are
living
with
and
affected
by
HIV/AIDS,
drug
use
and
incarceration,
along
with
the
organizations
that
serve
them,
to
create
healthier
and
more
just
communities.
VOCAL
New
York
will
be
the
umbrella
organization
for
all
of
our
community
organizing,
leadership
development,
civic
engagement,
strategic
advocacy
and
direct
services
programs.
We
are
proud
to
continue
in
the
spirit
of
our
history.
After
being
started
by
a
coalition
of
progressive
HIV/AIDS
housing
providers
in
the
mid-‐1990s,
NYCAHN
incorporated
in
2000
with
a
focus
on
both
advocacy
for
HIV/AIDS
supportive
housing
programs
and
community
organizing
with
low-‐income
people
living
with
HIV/AIDS.
At
the
same
time,
we
also
worked
to
address
other
structural
drivers
of
the
epidemic
beyond
homelessness,
such
as
reducing
incarceration
and
expanding
syringe
access.
The
idea
for
VOCAL
New
York
originated
during
a
leadership
retreat
with
our
low-‐income
members
about
two
years
ago.
Since
then,
we
have
discussed
it
further
during
general
membership
meetings
and
with
our
Board
of
Directors
to
better
clarify
our
work
and
how
to
communicate
it.
Our
new
identity
was
also
driven
by
significant
growth
in
our
work.
We
now
have
three
organizing
projects,
two
upstate
chapters
in
Westchester
and
Albany,
a
Brooklyn-‐based
direct
services
program,
and
are
pursuing
social
change
goals
across
a
range
of
issues.
We
also
wanted
to
clarify
how
our
work
addresses
the
underlying
causes
of
HIV/AIDS,
incarceration
and
drug-‐related
harms.
Creating
healthy
and
just
communities
means
working
to
address
the
social
determinants
of
health
and
correcting
the
imbalances
in
access
to
resources
and
political
power
that
drive
health
disparities,
which
has
always
been
at
the
core
of
our
work.
Our
program
areas
will
remain
the
same:
Community
Organizing
&
Base
Building:
Our
three
organizing
projects
–
VOCAL
Parolees,
Users
Union
and
HIV/AIDS
–
are
building
a
powerful
base
of
low-‐income
New
Yorkers
living
with
and
affected
by
HIV/AIDS,
drug
use
and
mass
incarceration
to
work
on
their
own
behalf
to
win
social
change
that
improves
their
lives.
Each
organizing
project
has
monthly
membership
meetings,
grassroots
campaigns,
weekly
steering
committee
meetings,
and
regular
direct
action
opportunities.
New
York
AIDS
Housing
Network:
The
AIDS
Housing
Network
is
our
advocacy
program
on
behalf
of
non-‐profit
organizations
that
provide
housing
assistance
for
over
45,000
low-‐
income
people
living
with
HIV/AIDS
and
their
families
throughout
the
state.
VOCAL
organizers
also
work
with
providers
to
engage
their
clients
in
our
campaigns.
Civic
Engagement:
Our
Movement
Vote
program
is
a
non-‐partisan
voter
registration,
education
and
get-‐out-‐the-‐vote
effort
targeting
the
most
marginalized
New
Yorkers.
We
conduct
outreach
in
low-‐threshold
service
sites
such
as
shelters,
food
pantries
and
syringe
exchange
programs
in
order
to
engage
people
who
are
unlikely
to
vote.
Training
and
Leadership
Development:
Through
our
POWER
(People
Organized
for
Power
&
Equal
Rights)
Academy,
we
offer
leadership
trainings
that
develop
the
skills
and
issue
knowledge
of
VOCAL
members.
Direct
Services:
Through
our
Building
Community
program,
we
offer
direct
services
that
include
support
groups,
syringe
exchange,
hepatitis
screening
and
counseling,
and
overdose
prevention.
Everyone
who
accesses
services
is
encouraged
to
become
involved
in
our
community
organizing.
We
are
proud
of
our
victories
during
the
past
year
that
were
won
with
your
support.
Our
campaigns
were
also
covered
widely
in
the
media,
including
the
New
York
Times,
Daily
News,
Wall
Street
Journal,
Buffalo
News,
AP,
and
other
outlets.
Highlights
of
recent
victories
include:
• Expanded
Syringe
Access
To
Prevent
HIV
and
Hepatitis
C:
We
passed
a
state
law
that
strengthened
legal
protections
for
syringe
exchange
participants
by
reconciling
the
Penal
Code
with
the
Public
Health
Law
nearly
20
years
after
syringe
exchange
first
became
legal.
• Affordable
Housing
&
Homelessness
Prevention:
After
a
four
year
legislative
campaign,
we
passed
a
major
state
bill
that
would
prevent
about
10,000
New
Yorkers
living
with
HIV/AIDS
from
becoming
homeless
by
establishing
a
30%
rent
cap
affordable
housing
protection.
Although
Governor
Paterson
vetoed
it,
we're
working
to
enact
it
before
he
leaves
office
and
educating
Governor-‐Elect
Cuomo’s
staff
about
it.
Campaign
updates
are
available
at
www.HousingFightsAIDS.org.
• Incarceration
-
Ending
'Prison-Based
Gerrymandering:'
We
built
a
grassroots
coalition
that
passed
a
law
changing
the
way
New
York
does
legislative
redistricting
by
ensuring
inmates
are
counted
in
their
home
communities
instead
of
where
they
are
incarcerated.
This
will
2
restore
voting
power
to
poor
communities
most
impacted
by
incarceration,
HIV/AIDS
and
the
drug
war.
• Protecting
access
to
HIV/AIDS
services
and
preserving
supportive
housing.
With
robust
involvement
from
our
network,
we
restored
75%
of
the
proposed
cut
for
supportive
housing
programs
serving
formerly
homeless
people
living
with
HIV/AIDS,
and
prevented
the
elimination
of
one-‐third
of
HASA
caseworkers
who
provide
access
to
Medicaid,
food
stamps,
housing,
and
other
public
benefits.
Unfortunately,
these
are
one-‐time
restorations
and
will
require
aggressive
advocacy
again
in
2011.
Our
2011
platform
is
taking
shape
and
a
draft
version
is
attached.
We
encourage
you
to
visit
the
temporary
version
of
our
new
website
at
www.vocal-‐ny.org.
We
will
do
a
full
launch
later
this
year
or
in
early
2011.
We
also
hope
that
you
will
SAVE
THE
DATE
for
two
very
important
events
this
fall:
• 10th
Anniversary
Gala
on
Thursday,
November
11th
from
7pm
–
10pm
at
the
1199
SEIU
Penthouse
in
Times
Square.
Contact
Charles
for
more
information
or
to
buy
tickets:
charles@nycahn.org
or
347-‐200-‐7248.
• VOCAL
statewide
Membership
Assembly
on
Friday,
December
10th
(time
and
location
TBA)
Please
let
me
know
if
you
have
any
questions
about
our
new
name
and
expanded
mission.
I
look
forward
to
continuing
to
work
together
to
create
a
healthier
and
more
just
New
York.
Sincerely,
Sean
Barry
Director,
VOCAL
New
York
(646)
373-‐3344
/
sean@vocal-‐ny.org
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