Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
New York City Council "Oversight" Hearing 4.29.09
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION & SEX WORK
Today we testified in City Hall Chambers about Runaway and Homeless Youth who have been "sexually exploited", had to result to "sex for survival" when not give food shelter and services, and those who become "sex workers" due to not being given enough alternative services before they had finished developing into adults.
Note:
DYCD was invited to "panel" first and there were in attendance 5 counsel members to hear their testimony which did not even acknowledge the gap in services being provided to Runaway and Homeless Youth of New York City. It only addressed programs being funded by DYCD, where the money was spent and the great good their programs are doing. Others such as MCCNY HYS, Bronx Community Pride Center, and many more were left out as though we never existed. When done with their testimony, they left without hearing a single other testimony comprised of NYC RHY service providers(both DYCD-funded and not), and 3 amazing testimonies by brave girls willing to speak first hand about this traumatic victimization they survived through.
The politicians began existing shortly after their much needed yes votes to move forward with Proposition 1227-A were in place also missing the majority of the testimonies.
Note:
The Advocates of this population remained in the room to hear each other once again until the testimonies were done. By the end Chair Fidler and his staff was the only City Council representation left with us in the room. He has been on board with us for many years now which means we were "testifying to the converted". He is the City Council Member who started to address these major issues regarding RHY a few years ago after we as service providers were many years into providing services to this transient and under-served population. Thank-You Chair Fidler, please send him a thank-you letter for what he has done and ask that he keep Prop 1227-A moving. Ask him how you can help him see this through to becoming the legislation. This work will save so many lives of a population that has yet to be given equal, appropriate services.
DYCD and Politicians alike were warned during the first portion that the DYCD RFP was not to be discussed yet. In spite of this, DYCD had it in their testimony. We were put on the panel second to last, but he gave us our chance to testify falling on the ears of those already doing all in our power to help.
If you have questions about this venture, call us at 212-629-7440 and ask for Lucky or Frances who were both in attendance.
Today we testified in City Hall Chambers about Runaway and Homeless Youth who have been "sexually exploited", had to result to "sex for survival" when not give food shelter and services, and those who become "sex workers" due to not being given enough alternative services before they had finished developing into adults.
Note:
DYCD was invited to "panel" first and there were in attendance 5 counsel members to hear their testimony which did not even acknowledge the gap in services being provided to Runaway and Homeless Youth of New York City. It only addressed programs being funded by DYCD, where the money was spent and the great good their programs are doing. Others such as MCCNY HYS, Bronx Community Pride Center, and many more were left out as though we never existed. When done with their testimony, they left without hearing a single other testimony comprised of NYC RHY service providers(both DYCD-funded and not), and 3 amazing testimonies by brave girls willing to speak first hand about this traumatic victimization they survived through.
The politicians began existing shortly after their much needed yes votes to move forward with Proposition 1227-A were in place also missing the majority of the testimonies.
Note:
The Advocates of this population remained in the room to hear each other once again until the testimonies were done. By the end Chair Fidler and his staff was the only City Council representation left with us in the room. He has been on board with us for many years now which means we were "testifying to the converted". He is the City Council Member who started to address these major issues regarding RHY a few years ago after we as service providers were many years into providing services to this transient and under-served population. Thank-You Chair Fidler, please send him a thank-you letter for what he has done and ask that he keep Prop 1227-A moving. Ask him how you can help him see this through to becoming the legislation. This work will save so many lives of a population that has yet to be given equal, appropriate services.
DYCD and Politicians alike were warned during the first portion that the DYCD RFP was not to be discussed yet. In spite of this, DYCD had it in their testimony. We were put on the panel second to last, but he gave us our chance to testify falling on the ears of those already doing all in our power to help.
If you have questions about this venture, call us at 212-629-7440 and ask for Lucky or Frances who were both in attendance.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
NYC DYCD financial report fiscal year 2008
Notes:
The Left column: $69.20 Million Dollars is Discretionary funds (Political spending money)
in 2008 MCCNY HYS received less than $10,000 in Discretionary.
The Right column: $10.75 Million Dollars is RHY (Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs)
some LGBTQ programs were completely cut out of this pot of $.
• 10 LGBT (TIL) Transitional Independent Living Beds are being closed at Green Chimneys NY by the new fiscal year.
• Drop-In Funds for LGBTQ Drop-In up in the Bronx at BCPC, youth programs will have to be cut if alternatives aren't found.
• Drop-In Funds for Manhattan once given to MCCNY Homeless Youth Services ($400,000 in 07)
MCCNY HYS has been cut down to $0.00 in the new fiscal year (Discretionary $ TBD) Drop-In & Shelter will remain OPEN
NYC DYCD is the agency responsible for administering city funding to youth programs.
Also Note that the DYCD Administration of $38.19 Million Dollars is three times larger than the amount allocated to Direct Service Providers (DYCD is not a Direct Youth Service Provider)
Our programs are forced to cut our meager staffs in half or completely instead of DYCD cutting any of their own jobs in this economic crisis.
Talk about being thrown under the bus.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Safe Haven for Youth
WE GOT ID's: Shelter Residents, & all current Drop-In clients.The past 2 weeks MCCNY Homeless Youth Services has implemented an ID System for the safety of all the clients we serve at our full time Drop-In facility as well as our full time Shelter for LGBTQ Runaway and Homeless Youth of New York City.
As it was noted in the NYC Association of Homeless and Street-Involved Youth Organizations in last months meeting, as well as with firsthand accounts at Sylvia's Place and other agencies in the past few months, NYC has had a recent resurgence of gang-related activity at/near RHY programs around the city.
This is a clear attempt to access services via programs serving our vulnerable populations and further victimizing a RHY population already overwhelmed with issues hindering their ability to successfully develop. During the past 2 weeks we remained open to our youth and young adults but arranged an implementation of the IDs through phases 1 through 3. This entailed getting more clients to access services between the hours of 12 and 6pm during weekdays which will hopefully encourage more usage of our case management skills and all the work of our FT Social Worker, Tanino Minneci who has been with Sylvia's since day 1 of ongoing client services over 6 years ago. For the past 2 years he has been working during the day doing 1-on-1 case management and providing access to services such as obtaining legal documents for RHY clients, guiding clients through name and gender changes on legal documentation, developmental and life skills. These tools help a client achieve the goals necessary to transition from being a LGBTQ RHY to an independent living adult that each of our clients has the potential of in spite of being cast aside by family, friends, adults, and communities before being allowed a safe place to experience adolescent development and then move on to address their internal issues regarding their identity.
The Shelter remained staffed and functional for the same amount of hours previously operated, however to ensure a successful transition to a security system Drop-In was closed between the hours of 6 and 9pm for just over a week. MCCNY Homeless Youth Services saw a major increase of client participation and development during this time and a lot of happy clients who now feel even safer in an LGBTQ-Specific program than they did previously. Our agency has updated the thousands of client files, given IDs to all clients currently being served and is working on policy to continue through the final phases of the ID system without ever giving up on our pledge to be a first stop for this population, seeing that new comers have access to services while waiting on City Funded programs, most of which have waiting lists of over 100 clients long which results in an approximate waiting period of 1-5 months at minimum. We still take 1st time clients and always will. Of course this puts a large burden on our program to provide the many thousand homeless LGBTQ Youth of NYC a safe harbor until city funded agencies are able to fit a meager few of them into the next step which a Continuum of Care which MCCNY Homeless Youth Services remains excluded from in efforts to minimise the severity of this apparent epidemic that has plagued the most vulnerable, under served, under-represented, transient group of young people in the history of the United States of America.
That said... how many lives have been lost along the way by overlooking these kids for so long.
Be part of the solution and join the growing number of people seeing something and doing all in their power to see that these kids will not have to carry on through life with the INJUSTICES that continue each and every day.
Each morning the emerge to a society that does not "see them" or "the damage" being done to them by all who remain "ignorant", "ignoring them as people", or those "completely avoiding this crowd of surviving kids in need of help".
Now we will work on getting Staff and Volunteers them too if we can manage to keep up with the kids and the funding crisis.
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