Community Voices Heard

CVH Report Finds $160 Million Welfare-to-Work Contracts Failing Clients, Contracted Vendors and Taxpayers

Submitted by michelle on Thu, 2008-11-13 11:14.

New York, NY - According to a report released by Community Voices Heard this morning at a packed public briefing, the $53 million a year New York City allocated for a program to prepare and place welfare recipients in jobs and get them off of welfare is failing to serve its purpose and meet its goals.  Research points to an extremely weak program with a number of shortcomings: poor job placement, weak job retention, high rates of recidivism, limited access to education and training, punitive sanction policies, and many people falling through the cracks without receiving needed services.

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Press Release - BTW Report - FINAL.pdf	73.97 KB
Missing the Mark Presentation - FINAL.pdf	282.85 KB
STORY CONTACTS FOR REPORTERS.pdf	28.93 KB
Alisa Pizarro Testimony.pdf	19.45 KB
Janet Rivera Testimony.pdf	20.11 KB
Anita Walton Testimony.pdf	20.17 KB

The Right to the City Alliance Calls on NY City Council to Listen to the Voices of the People and Oppose Term Limits

Submitted by sondra on Thu, 2008-10-16 12:36. Community Voices Heard joined the Right to the City Alliance at a press conference calling on the New York City Council to oppose a term limits extension without a public vote.  CVH Board Member Agnes Rivera states, "Bloomberg hasn't done anything for low-income people and his policies have been displacing people.  We need to put this decision back to the people to see what they want and what is best for them.  Just because Bloomberg has a lot of money, he should not be able to do whatever he wants.  It is time for change."

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Press Release RTTC Term Limits 10.16.08.pdf	83.4 KB

Delegation of Grassroots Leaders Arrives at Americas Social Forum

Submitted by sondra on Wed, 2008-10-08 15:48.

Board Member Anne Washington and Mid-Hudson Valley Organizer Jenny Loeb are representing Community Voices Heard at the Americas Social Forum this October.  Thirty-nine representatives of community-based and worker organizations that are part of the U.S.-based Grassroots Global Justice Alliance (GGJ) arrived on October 6 in Guatemala City. Representing 20 organizations from 8 states, the delegation is in Guatemala to participate in the 3rd continental Americas Social Forum (ASF). With the backdrop of the spiraling collapse of the U.S. and global financial system, the GGJ delegation plans to meet with other grassroots movements from throughout the Americas to discuss a range of topics including the economic crisis, the environment, militarism, women's rights and indigenous sovereignty.  Attached is a press release with more information on the delegation.

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GGJ at Americas Social Forum.doc	36.5 KB

CVH Members Hold Vigil in Honor of Jacob Neuman

Submitted by sondra on Fri, 2008-08-29 12:20. On Monday, August 25th at noon a group of public housing residents, who are also members of the grassroots organization Community Voices Heard, held a candlelight vigil and set up a memorial in front of the offices of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the City Council, and the Mayor. The lunchtime vigil was organized in memory of Jacob Neuman, the five-year old public housing resident who fell to his tragic death last week. On Tuesday, August 19th, due to the malfunctioning of an elevator, Jacob fell ten floors down an elevator shaft to his death in the Taylor-Wythe Houses in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The elevator, like others in NYCHA buildings across the City, was long in a state of disrepair and long neglected and had failed 17 of the last 21 inspections.  After fifteen minutes of silence, a press conference was held to highlight the problems of governmental disinvestment in public housing and NYCHA mismanagement of funds and the effect this is having on housing residents.  (See attached to read the full press release.)

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Press Release - Solidarity Vigil.doc	229.5 KB

CVH Members Speak Out about Poverty Stats

Submitted by dominique on Tue, 2008-08-26 16:54. As the U.S. Census Bureau released it's report on Poverty and Health Insurance in America. As the Statistics came out CVH Members gathered at the office and gave their reaction to the Press.

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Press Release - Poverty Stats.doc	245.5 KB

CVH members and Welfare Recipients Set Up the Linda Gibbs "Soup Line" at City Hall

Submitted by anita on Wed, 2008-07-30 17:47.

At noon today, July 30, 2008, members of Community Voices Heard (CVH), a grassroots organization of low-income families, organized a soup line in front of New York City Hall.  Members of the organization stated that they wanted to highlight the precarious situation of many low-income families in the present economic downturn.  CVH members handed out cups of soup from tables that they were calling the “Linda Gibbs’ Soup Line”.  Linda Gibbs, the New York City Deputy Mayor for Health & Human Services, was called upon by CVH members to offer more opportunities to public assistance recipients to obtain career-path employment with real salaries as opposed to the unpaid workfare system.  Tayamah Gounden, a member of CVH and current welfare recipient said that “The WEP program makes me feel worst than being a slave because I want a real job.”  She was referring to the unpaid workfare program known as the Work Experience Program (WEP) in which over 10,000 welfare recipients participate in New York City.

 

CVH members chanted and waved four-foot spoons adorned with pictures of Linda Gibbs to try to catch the attention of the Deputy Mayor, whose office is in City Hall.  

“Mia Bell, leader at CVH said, “we need real jobs; Deputy Mayor Gibbs needs to stop playing with our lives and families.”

-see more- 

 

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Press Release Gibbs Action 2008-07-08 2.doc	715.5 KB

Low-Income Residents Speak Out Against $159 in Tax Money Spent on Luxury Housing

Submitted by sarah on Fri, 2008-05-02 16:11.

On Tuesday, April 29th about 40 Community Voices Heard members in Yonkers spoke out against City Hall's plans to use millions of city tax dollars to subsidize the development of luxury apartments and stores. Prior to a public hearing held by the City Council on the Steuver Fidelco Capelli (SFC) development planned for Getty Square, CVH members held a press conference demanding that the project include housing and jobs for low-income families, so that they would not be displaced.

After packing into the crowded hearing, three CVH members gave testimony and asked City Council members to attend a community forum planned for June. CVH members held up signs during the testimonies and at the end chanted "brick by brick, wall by wall, build a city for us all!" The CVH press conference and testimonies were covered by the Journal News and Channel 12 News. Click the links below to see the press release and members' testimonies.

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2008-04-29-Press Release-Public Hearing Action (Yonkers).doc	33.5 KB
phyllis testimony april 29.doc	25.5 KB
valerie april 29 testimony.doc	29.5 KB

Long-term Residents March to City Hall to Demand Inclusion of Low-Income Housing and Jobs for Local Residents in Development

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2008-02-12 21:03.

Tonight low-income residents of Yonkers and members of Community Voices Heard marched to City Hall to demand that the city include housing and jobs for low-income families in the plans for development in Getty’s Square, and that no more public housing will be demolished in Yonkers.

Even though the temperature was below freezing and the snow was so bad that many buses stopped running, CVH members still marched to City Hall. We held a press conference where members gave testimony about the need for low-income Yonkers residents to have a say in the decisions affecting their lives. Adrienne Knight, a member of Community Voices Heard and resident of the Schlobohm public housing development explained why the group was out tonight, “We are here today to demand that the city invest in public housing and low-income housing – and not tear any more down. We are dropping keys off today at City Hall because we don’t want to be locked out – we are the residents of Yonkers and we have a say.”

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2008-02-06-Press Release-March to City Hall (Yonkers).doc	45 KB
val testimony.doc	26 KB
walter testimony.doc	25.5 KB
Adrienne Knight testimony.doc	25.5 KB

CVH Holds New Orleans Style Funeral March to Target Obama and Clinton

Submitted by mike on Sat, 2008-01-26 17:22.

This afternoon, Community Voices Heard Members from Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Yonkers, and all 5 boroughs of New York City joined together for a New Orleans style funeral march to highlight the crisis facing low-income people that have been displaced from their homes in New Orleans and around the country. The group called on Senators Clinton and Obama, democratic candidates running for president, to discuss issues facing low-income people around the country—such as improving public housing and creating good jobs—in their debates and campaign speeches. Dressed in black, carrying black umbrellas and carrying a coffin, we marched on Hillary Clinton’s campaign office in midtown and then traveled to Columbus Circle where we held a press conference.

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2008-01-26 Global Day of Action Press Release.doc	48 KB

Spitzer Overlooks Public Housing in State of State Address

Submitted by mike on Wed, 2008-01-09 17:55.

This afternoon New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer gave his State of the State Address. In his address, the governor committed to invest $400 million in a housing opportunity fund to build affordable housing for teachers, police officers, the elderly and disabled. While this represents a significant step towards addressing the affordable housing crisis in New York, some low-income New Yorkers are disappointed that Governor’s did not mention the critical need to invest in the existing affordable housing stock in New York, such as public housing.

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2008-08-01 Press Release (Spitzer state of state).doc	46 KB

City Wide Public Housing Rally

Submitted by mike on Thu, 2007-10-04 14:05.

Yesterday we held the City Wide Public Housing Rally with the support of: Elected Officials: Council Member Rosie Mendez, Chair of Public Housing Subcommittee, District 2 and Melissa Mark Viverito, District 8. Unions: Teamsters Local 237, District Council 37 (DC 37). Community Groups: Community Voices Heard (CVH), Good Old Lower East Side/Public Housing Residents of the Lower East Side (GOLES/PHROLES), East River Development Alliance (ERDA), Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE), Mother’s on the Move (MOM), New York City Public Housing Resident’s Alliance, Red Hook Initiative.

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2007-10-04 Press Release Public Housing City Wide Rally.doc	39 KB

Public Housing Residents Seize New Orleans Government Office

Submitted by mike on Fri, 2007-08-31 18:10.

Public Housing residents from around the country have just taken over the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO). The public building that they have occupied has been surrounded by the National Guard, the New Orleans Police, including a SWAT team. It is now two years after Katrina and New Orleans public housing residents are still prevented from returning to their homes. Public housing residents and advocates from Miami, New Orleans, Georgia, Texas, Rhode Island, Chicago, California, and New York have taken over the HANO offices at 4100 Touro St. to demand that public housing, both in New Orleans and around the country, is saved, preserved, and expanded. Alexa Kasdan, our Policy & Research Associate, is inside the building representing Community Voices Heard.

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2007-08-31 Press Release Public Housing Building Take Over In New Orleans.doc	45 KB

Grassroots Global Justice Delegation Travels to New Orleans to Support International Tribunal and Survivor’s Assembly

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2007-08-27 15:12.

Two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Grassroots Global Justice members will travel to New Orleans to provide logistical support for the International Tribunal and 2nd Survivor’s Assembly. Community Voices Heard and other member groups of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance will be traveling to New Orleans to provide support.

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2007-08-28 Press Release (GGJ Katrina Survivors Panel).doc	151.5 KB

Press Release from Governer Spitzer, He Signed the Shelter Allowance Bill!

Submitted by mike on Wed, 2007-08-15 17:47.

Here is the press release that was just put out by Governor Elliot Spitzer. He has just signed the Shelter Allowance bill that Community Voices Heard has been pushing for him to sign. This bill will provide an additional $47 million in funding annually to NYCHA.

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2007-08-15 Press Release Shelter Allowance Bill.pdf	81.93 KB

Elected Officials Take First-Hand Look at NYC Public Housing Conditions on Resident-Led Tour of Developments

Submitted by mike on Thu, 2007-07-26 18:20.

This morning, public housing residents who are also members of Community Voices Heard took elected officials through the buildings, apartments, and grounds of Wagner and Drew Hamilton Houses, both public housing developments in East and Central Harlem.

The tour highlighted dilapidated playgrounds, bathrooms without walls and burnt-out hallways, conditions that exist, residents say, due to diminishing government resources for public housing. The group ended the tour with a press conference where public housing residents, elected officials and union leadership called on Governor Spitzer to sign the shelter allowance bill (S.4329/A.7905) which would significantly increase state funding to NYCHA.

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Press Release Constituency Tour Final.doc	53.5 KB

Long Term Residents of Yonkers Guide State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins on a Day Living in Poverty

Submitted by mike on Thu, 2007-07-12 13:32.

Today, low-income residents of Yonkers who are also members of Community Voices Heard guided State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins through a day of living in poverty. Residents took the Senator to several sites to show her the struggles they face as low-income people and ended the day by proposing solutions that she can take to address the problems presented to her.

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2007-07-12 Press Release ASC Day in the Life.doc	34.5 KB

Research Report “Failure to Comply” Finds Implementation Flaws in $200 Million City Program

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2007-03-05 13:35.

According to the report we released this morning, the approximately $66.6 million per year that the Human Resources Administration (HRA) allocated to a program to serve an annual 45,600 public assistance recipients with barriers to employment, is neither addressing their barriers nor helping them move towards self-sufficiency. New York City Council Member Bill de Blasio, Chair of the General Welfare Committee introduced the report at today’s press conference. He said, "This is about accountability. WeCARE is intended to help people with complex or multiple disabilities reach their maximum level of self-sufficiency."

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2007-03-05 Press Release WeCARE Report.doc	33.5 KB

Low-Income New Yorkers React to the Release of Plan by Mayor’s Commission for Economic Opportunity

Submitted by mike on Mon, 2006-09-18 13:39.

At 12:00 today, the Mayor’s Commission for Economic Opportunity released its plan on how to reduce poverty in New York City. The Commission, which was established in March 2006, was to release its plan by Labor Day 2006. Following the release of the plan, members of Community Voices Heard responded to the content and future steps of this final plan. Members of the group are calling on Mayor Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs to create a strong plan to monitor and evaluate the Commission’s work and to include low-income New Yorkers in the monitoring process.

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2006-09-18 Press Release CEO Recs Release.doc	32 KB
2006-09-18 Press Release - Quotes on Release Date (CEO).doc	21 KB

On Day Census Bureau Releases Annual Poverty Statistics, Low-Income New Yorkers Call on Mayor Bloomberg’s CEO to offer solutions

Submitted by mike on Tue, 2006-08-29 13:43.

At 12:30pm today, shortly after the Census Bureau released its annual poverty statistics, 50 unemployed and low-income New Yorkers, members of Community Voices Heard (CVH), held a press conference to testify about personal experiences living in poverty and to offer recommendations to Mayor Bloomberg’s Commission for Economic Opportunity. On this same day, one year ago, Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast, exposing the economic and racial divide in the United States. The group gathered today, weeks before the Mayor’s Commission is due to release its final plan for poverty reduction, to call attention to the poverty crisis in New York City and demand that the Commission create a bold and concrete plan.

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2006-08-29 Press Release Census CEO Action Final.doc	30.5 KB