“Housing is health, and congregate settings are a Petri dish for COVID,” says @RitchieTorres, calling on @NYCMayor to #StopTheTransfers. Moving homeless NYers to congregate shelters right now is “a denial of public health.”
“As a physician, I understand the inextricable link between housing and health,” says @oni_blackstock. “In the last 2 weeks alone, we’ve seen a 140% increase in new COVID cases. Transferring people to congregate shelters in the middle of a pandemic is in effect a death sentence.”
“The Mayor and Governor say they want to reduce infection, but they’re not walking the walk,” says Ari Moma of @nynurses. “It just takes one person to infect everyone.” #StopTheTransfers
“We represent frontline doctors in the largest health and hospital system in the country,” says Devon Gilliams of @DoctorsCouncil. “The pandemic is not over. These transfers run counter to public health.” #StopTheTransfers
“I’ve worked on COVID wards and in ICU units,” says Dr. Marc Shi of the NY Doctors Coalition. “I would like to think we learned something from the last year. We demand the city put an immediate end to transfers to congregate shelters!” #StopTheTransfers
“When I was able to stay in the hotel, I was thriving,” says Luis Marrero, who was recently transferred back to a congregate shelter. “The city says they provide services in congregate shelters—but that’s not true.”#StopTheTransfers
“We’re reverting back to systems that we know killed us,” says @Fernandez4NY. “Governor Cuomo needs to sign the state FHEPS bill, and we need to stop the transfers.”
“We’re in the middle of a pandemic and faced with the Delta variant,” @OswaldFeliz reminds us. “We’re here to say loud and clear: #StopTheTransfers!”
Activist @ShanequaCharles speaks about the virus’s disproportionate impact on Black and brown elders. “It’s not right. Sending people to congregate shelters is a death sentence.” To stop the spread of COVID and save lives, @NYCMayor must stop the transfers—NOW.
“Medical professionals and reps from every level of government are here,” says @JumaaneWilliams. “The Mayor and Governor are about to make the same mistakes again. Putting people into congregate shelters is a death trap.” #StopTheTransfers
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Yesterday, @andylocal reported that 9 congregate shelter residents are being isolated due to COVID exposure. Thanks to @LegalAidNYC, further transfers are on pause thru today--but this is another piece of evidence that if @NYCMayor resumes transfers tmrw, lives are at risk. (1/x)
These COVID exposures are exactly what we’ve been warning @NYCMayor about for the past month. Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan heard it directly from homeless NYers and advocates. And yet, mind-bogglingly, the Mayor plans to restart transfers tomorrow. (2/x)
We came into #JulyHomelessRights month with 3 goals: stop the transfers, stop the sweeps, implement Intro 146. As of Friday, we’re on track to meet one of those--and as transfers and sweeps continue, we can’t let up. (3/x) citylimits.org/2021/08/02/de-…
Tweeting in full the statement we received from "Da Homeless Hero," staying at the Lucerne.
"Apparently, as time counts down the reality of this experience is beginning to hit me. How could I not be traumatized at being dehumanized? I've done all they've asked me to do. 1/8
I've put trust in these institutions and despite all that has gone wrong in the past, I've kept my eyes on the prize. This system has failed me as a young child in the foster care system. Now as an adult struggling to overcome my substance use disorder and deal with my mental 2/8
health issues, my vulnerability has wreaked havoc on my life. This system is continuing to fail me.
I beg of you to fight and fight hard for us. We are not humans in the eyes of so many. As a Black man, the descendent of slaves, there is the inner connection to the ancestors 3/8