Thread by @humandotnyc

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the formal launch of Human.nyc!

Since we launched the "journey map" one year ago, we've fought to bring the voices & ideas from the streets to the forefront of policy conversations on homelessness.

https://twitter.com/humandotnyc/status/1091082168254849026

We spent the last year working to introduce unsheltered homeless New Yorkers to lawmakers & media 📣.

Our goal was to show @NYCMayor that the services that people want and need (housing) are too scarce & too difficult to access, and that people are NOT "service resistant."

First, we introduced our friends Charmian, Todd, & Tabby to @Gregbsmithnyc @THECITYNY. They shared their experiences with outreach teams, and the challenges of proving they are "chronically homeless."

It was the first time this process was ever covered:

thecity.nyc/2019/07/punch-…

At the same time, homeless pet owners told us just how difficult it is to get off the streets without being separated from their animals.

We worked with Council Member @StephenLevin33 on legislation that would push @NYCDHS to address this issue:

brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/…

On October 5, we woke up to the worst news.

Cheun Kok, Anthony Leon Manson, Nazario Vazquez Villegas, and Florencio Moran were murdered while sleeping on the streets.

We mourned their losses with homeless friends and advocates.

Then, we wrote this:

nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-ope…

After the murders, the pressure to address street homelessness increased. @CityAndStateNY reached out to us to provide our expertise on the subject. We made the case that what we needed was more safe havens and more housing, rather than more outreach.

cityandstateny.com/articles/polit…

At first, @NYCMayor didn’t listen to any of us. He insisted that we need more outreach, not more beds. We all pushed back.

Later, he introduced a counterproductive program called #OutreachNYC.

We told @jarrettmurphy @CityLimitsNews why it wouldn’t work:

citylimits.org/2019/12/10/may…

Shortly after, we introduced Peter Malvan to @AhmedJallow @CityLimitsNews. Peter echoed what many people on the streets and subways tell us everyday: Outreach workers can only do so much if they are not able to offer people housing.

citylimits.org/2020/01/02/a-w…

Finally, @NYCMayor accepted what we and others kept repeating: The only way to solve street homelessness is to create housing for people living on the streets.

He promised 2,000 more beds! 👏

But sadly, his plan included more policing too:

thecity.nyc/2019/12/de-bla… @yoavgonen

Policing, especially on the subways, had already been top of mind for us.

We spoke with @guardian, and introduced @LaurenAratani to Karen Walker, to begin to shed a light on what was really happening on the trains:

theguardian.com/us-news/2019/o…

Our efforts to combat criminalization picked up when we received an anonymous letter from a group of NYPD Transit Officers who spoke up about the “Subway Diversion Program.”

We worked with @NYHomeless & @LegalAidNYC to publish this: diversioniscoercion.nyc #DiversionIsCoercion

Karim Walker (@shift_in2_turbo) summarized the absurdity of the Diversion Program best with @PIX11News:

"The police picked me up at a stop. Asked me if I needed services. Fool as I was, I did say yes. They put me in handcuffs. Wrote me a ticket."

pix11.com/news/local-new…

After the hearing, it was clear that like @StephenLevin33 said, “...this program has not actually helped the city’s unsheltered individuals in the transit system move into shelter and services.”

The fight to end this must continue.

gothamist.com/news/six-month… @mirelaiverac

Our year did not end there! Beyond the fight to end street homelessness, we joined our partners in the #HouseOurFutureNY campaign to demand @NYCMayor increase the number of homeless set-asides for homeless New Yorkers.

The campaign had a huge victory at the end of 2019…

In Dec, @NYCCouncil passed Intro 1211 (@Salamancajr80 🙌) to create 1,000 new apartments/year for homeless New Yorkers. We were honored to play a very small role in the #HouseOurFutureNY campaign led by @NYHomeless, @VOCALNewYork, & @neighborstogthr.

nytimes.com/2019/12/12/nyr…

Lastly, yesterday, @NYCSpeakerCoJo, @StephenLevin33, and @NYCCouncil released the #CaseForChangeNYC plan to combat homelessness. The plan included many recommendations we & others been pushing for: more safe haven capacity & direct shelter placements.

https://twitter.com/humandotnyc/status/1222937002175344640

Okay, deep breath!

That was our past year. Thank you to the homeless New Yorkers we work with everyday, to the journalists who helped share their stories, and to our partners who have been in this fight for years/decades! There are too many of you to @, but you know who you are.

Now, here are the fights ahead this year:

🛑 We must stop the Diversion Program & criminalization of homelessness.
🛏 @NYCMayor committed to 2,000 new beds. We need to hold him accountable.
⏩ We need to streamline the street-to-home process.
🏠 We need more supportive housing!

And… last but not least:

💰We need to raise some money! Our one full-time and one part-time person team is struggling a bit here…

If you want to keep us afloat, you can contribute here: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/…

Okay! That’s all for now. Thank you to everyone who is in this fight with us.

Here’s to hoping for a thread with more victories in one year’s time.

Much love,
@JoshDeanNYC & @LyndenBond