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September 2021
By Jimmy Meagher
The 2021 Mayoral general election comes at a time of great reckoning for the City of New York. Over 33,000 New Yorkers have lost their lives due to the COVID-19 virus over the past 17 months. The next Mayor will have to rebuild a city decimated by loss – of loved ones, of employment opportunities, and of the connections that bind us together.
The next Mayor will need to urgently address the alarming rise in gun violence and hate violence that are deepening scars in our neighborhoods and causing more New Yorkers to fear violent encounters on our streets. At the same time, the next Mayor must build meaningful and lasting trust between law enforcement and Black and brown communities across the five boroughs by re-imagining the future of policing, public safety, and criminal justice responses to violence and abuse; prioritize housing stability for those impacted by violence and abuse as a basic need for safety; invest in economic stability strategies for survivors.
For the last 43 years, Safe Horizon has offered hope, healing, and comfort to New Yorkers impacted by violence. Our client-centered, trauma-informed approach takes into account the impact of racism, and we strive to uphold the dignity and humanity of everyone who walks through our doors. Through natural disasters and terrorist attacks, fraught economic times and a worldwide pandemic, Safe Horizon has always been here to help New Yorkers recover and heal.
As we navigate turnover that will re-shape city government, we urge new leaders in elected office to build on what we and our colleagues in the victim services field have learned over decades about how best to respond to children and adults who have been harmed.
To read the PDF version, click here.
Contents:
RECOMMENDATIONS: PUBLIC SAFETY/CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Invest in restorative justice programs.
Not every survivor of violence or abuse calls the police. Not every survivor who calls the police believes the criminal justice system will adequately address their safety. And not every survivor who calls the police receives the support they need. In order to allow for true accountability and reduced risk of further violence, the next Mayor should increase investments into community-based restorative justice programs across the five boroughs. These programs bring together survivors, people who have caused harm, community members, and specialized providers to emphasize accountability and a commitment to repairing harm.
Re-direct funding and responses from the NYPD to community-based solutions.
Communities are demanding transformational change at the NYPD, which warrants a comprehensive review of policies and practices regarding use of force, accountability, transparency, neighborhood policing, and organizational culture. We urge the next Mayor and Commissioner to commit to training its officers on the history and legacy of racist policing strategies and engage in a process of introspection and healing.
The next Mayor should also strongly consider using alternatives to law enforcement to respond to individuals in mental health and/or substance abuse crises. In most cases, an outreach team consisting of peers and behavioral health specialists can help safely stabilize the individual and more effectively connect them with services and care.
Similarly, while the police should continue to respond to emergencies that warrant their presence, officers should no longer be tasked with conducting outreach to people experiencing homelessness on the subways or other public spaces. This work should instead be handled by human service professionals who can help engage and connect homeless New Yorkers with supports.
We need increased investments in violence-interrupter programs that help to stop community violence before it escalates and the victim services that respond to the trauma of individual and collective experiences of community violence. A more robustly funded community-based response will help connect persons in crisis with much needed services and reduce the risk of violence or death at the hands of the police. Of course, this also requires that the City sustainably invest not just in outreach but in the community-based services that New Yorkers in crisis need to heal. A truly trauma-informed approach to interpersonal and community violence will benefit communities, the NYPD, and the City as a whole.
Build understanding of trauma with NYPD & communities.
Organizations like Equal Justice USA have invested considerable energy into bringing police officers and heavily-policed communities together to share experiences with trauma and its impacts. These discussions allow for vulnerability and shared understanding of what it means for police officers and community members to repeatedly witness and experience violence. This shared understanding can in turn reduce the prevalence of needlessly adverse interactions between law enforcement and communities. The next Mayor should consider adopting a similar model for New York City to help forge stronger partnerships between the NYPD and the communities they serve so they can work together to find and create solutions.
Nominate judges who understand the dynamics of domestic violence.
The next Mayor will appoint family and criminal court judges to the bench who will hear many hundreds of cases each year involving domestic violence and make rulings that impact survivors’ lives for years to come. It is essential that these judges better understand the complex decisions that survivors make for themselves and their families, and work with them and their attorneys to craft decisions that increase paths to safety and healing.
RECOMMENDATIONS: PUBLIC SAFETY/CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Expand services for children impacted by sexual violence.
Sexually abused children sometimes reenact their abuse, causing harm to other children. This may be misidentified as a sex offense, resulting in criminal charges that compound the damage to children and families. Juvenile justice involvement is unnecessary when access to effective community-based services are available. We urge the Mayor to invest in services to address reenactment of sexual trauma, strengthen families, and create opportunities of healing for young people who have experienced violence and abuse.
Commit to closing Rikers Island.
A powerful, multi-year advocacy effort led primarily by formerly incarcerated individuals led the current Mayor to agree to close Rikers Island and replace it with smaller jails in communities with more on-site rehabilitative services. The violence that continues to plague the jails at Rikers is unconscionable – for those who are incarcerated there and those who work there. We urge the next Mayor to close this facility once and for all, and to invest in the housing, job development, treatment, and other supports needed to strengthen and empower communities, which include people who have caused harm.
RECOMMENDATIONS: HOUSING JUSTICE
De-silo shelter systems for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness.
There are currently three main shelter systems in New York City – one for domestic violence (DV) victims, one for homeless youth, and one for everyone else who finds themselves without a place to stay. While the DV shelter system (operated by the Human Resources Administration [HRA]) and general homeless shelter systems (operated by the Department of Homeless Services [DHS]) are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Social Services (DSS), the homeless youth shelter system is overseen by the Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD). Complicating matters even further, DSS and DYCD report to different Deputy Mayors, reducing the likelihood of program coordination. While New Yorkers may move between systems, the lack of service coordination impedes paths to healing and stability. The next Mayor should direct the aforementioned Commissioners to all report to the Deputy Mayor for Health & Human Services and help ensure continuity of services between all three shelter systems.
Make housing subsidies & access to affordable housing options available across shelter systems.
The lack of coordination between shelter systems means that certain housing subsidies are available to residents of shelters overseen by DSS but not by DYCD. This inconsistency means homeless youth must leave shelters designed to most effectively meet their needs to enter another, often less-welcoming shelter system in order to qualify for a housing subsidy. Similarly, young people in homeless youth shelters have no priority status to apply for public housing, unlike their peers in the other shelter systems. Finally, the city has made Special One-Time Assistance (SOTA) grants available to individuals and families residing in DHS homeless shelters but not to residents of HRA or DYCD shelters. The next Mayor should put an immediate end to this fragmented service delivery system and ensure that paths to housing are equitably distributed between the three shelter systems.
Increase housing subsidy value.
Recently passed City Council legislation (Intro 146) will increase the value of housing subsidies to the fair market housing rate, and in so doing will open the doors widely to many more apartments for individuals and families trying to exit shelter and obtain sustainable permanent housing. This common-sense solution will help scores of shelter residents find housing and stability, and the next Mayor should work with advocates to ensure the subsidy rates are aligned with actual rental costs and that landlords accept these vouchers.
Additionally, the next Mayor must fix the CityFHEPS benefits cliff. A last-minute change to Intro 146 increased CityFHEPS allowable rents but did not increase the income threshold for ongoing eligibility. This change will force people to choose between working and keeping their homes. Cycling in and out of homelessness is traumatizing. The next Mayor must ensure that New Yorkers are able to achieve housing stability and economic mobility and success.
RECOMMENDATIONS: ECONOMIC JUSTICE
Commit to funding flexible microgrants for survivors’ needs.
Too often the survivors and young people that come to our programs for help need small amounts of money for immediate needs – clothing for a job interview, a bus ticket to a safe location, a phone bill to help stay connected to social supports. These small expenses are often the one thing standing in the way of safety. The next Mayor should create a fund – outside of the criminal justice system – for low-barrier direct microgrants that prioritize choice, flexibility, and timeliness.
Create educational and economic opportunities for survivors.
Economic stability and independence are foundational to safety. So many survivors don’t have the choice to leave their abusive partner, even if they want to, due to economic reasons rooted in systemic sexism and racism. The next Mayor should work with providers to create low-barrier meaningful workforce development and educational opportunities for survivors that take into account different individual needs.
The next Administration should also work to eliminate barriers, like asset limitations in public assistance, that prohibit survivors from working, building wealth, and rising out of poverty.
Guarantee a universal right to counsel in immigration proceedings.
Barring federal funding to guarantee universal right to counsel in our immigration courts, the City and State should build on existing programming that provides attorneys to detained individuals in immigration proceedings and invest in direct legal services and supports for undocumented folks, especially for those in removal proceedings.
Create an economic stability strategy that centers the health, well-being, and safety of the most vulnerable New Yorkers.
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Our clients are especially vulnerable to an economic downturn. During this pandemic, undocumented survivors, runaway and homeless youth, and Black and brown survivors lost what little they had – employment, housing, childcare, etc. They continue to struggle in ways that others can’t imagine. The next Mayor must commit to rebuilding in a way that centers the needs of our city’s most vulnerable. And the Mayor must proactively prepare a plan before the next economic downturn or recession to ensure our collective stability and safety.
Include anti-poverty measures as part of a comprehensive public safety plan.
New Yorkers all want public safety. As the next Mayor creates and implements their plan to address public safety and the current rise in violence, they must approach public safety more broadly. For many of our clients, safety means health, mental health, economic stability, housing, and so much more. The next Mayor should intentionally invest in communities and work to end poverty when investing in public safety measures.
Fully fund the nonprofit sector.
The City of New York contracts with nonprofits to deliver the essential services so many New Yorkers rely on – for food, for safety, for shelter, etc. However, the City too often asks our community of nonprofits to do more with less and to accept the bare minimum. This means that many – too many – nonprofit human services workers, the majority of whom are women and people of color, are barely surviving on the wages paid by underfunded City contracts. Because many survivors come into victim services work to help other survivors, City funding for the nonprofit victim services sector is an economic justice issue for survivors. To live up to our shared values of equity, equality, and supporting communities, the next Mayor must commit to fully funding the Cost-of Living Adjustment (COLA), the Indirect Cost Rate Initiative (ICR), and other fair and just investments to our sector and to fully funding city contracts at appropriate levels to allow non-profits to offer competitive living wage salaries. Pay equity is a racial justice issue, a gender justice issue, and an economic justice issue.
CONCLUSION
The next Mayor will face so many challenges. The Mayor should turn to victim services and antiviolence organizations like Safe Horizon for guidance. We know all too well how racial justice, gender justice, criminal justice, housing justice, and economic justice are connected.
City & State
August 22, 2021
Excerpt below:
Local communities play a significant role in shaping policy, driving social change and determining the direction of public life in New York. So it’s no surprise that many public officials, nonprofit leaders, business executives, advocates and activists prioritize engaging and communicating with communities as a key component of their everyday work. Even as COVID-19 spread across the state, New York’s leaders continued to find ways to mobilize residents. Unprecedented need prompted philanthropic leaders, government officials and community members to launch new initiatives to help people and institutions throughout the health crisis. Activists continued to educate people and rally together – whether in person or over Zoom – on other pressing matters, from criminal justice reform to census outreach.
City & State’s first Community Engagement Power 50 recognizes an array of accomplished individuals who carry out this type of work day in and day out. Unlike other power lists, the Community Engagement Power 50 is unranked and is listed in alphabetical order, given the challenges associated with concretely evaluating one’s ability to engage with communities and comparing it across so many diverse sectors. This list – researched and written by City & State’s Kay Dervishi – features New Yorkers in government, nonprofits, businesses and other organizations that dedicate a great deal of time and energy to connecting with communities across the state.
Liz Roberts
CEO, Safe Horizon
With 34 years of service, Liz Roberts is the leader of the nation’s largest victim services nonprofit, Safe Horizon. She started her career as a domestic violence hotline worker, eventually rising to a deputy commissioner position with the New York City Administration for Children’s Services. As CEO, Roberts currently oversees her organization’s projects to support survivors of crime and abuse. She recently advocated for the passage of the Adult Survivors Act, which would allow adult sexual abuse survivors to pursue civil lawsuits regardless of when the abuse occurred.
Read the original article here.
August 19, 2021
Coming into office on the heels of yet another sexual harassment crisis, it is imperative that Governor Kathy Hochul address gender equity, sexual violence, and sexual harassment in a systematic and decisive way. This is critical to re-establishing confidence in the Office of the Governor and to earn the trust of all New Yorkers.
This document summarizes a proposal for an agenda that will root out some of the causes of gender inequity and bring much-needed accountability to those who inflict harm through sexual and gender-based violence and harassment. Governor Hochul must actively and publicly work to advance this package, including long-needed executive action and immediate passage – through both the Senate and the Assembly – of critical legislation that addresses problem areas where women, BIPOC, and non-binary people are disproportionately affected.
This is a moment for bold action!
Priorities for a sexual/gender-based violence & harassment free New York include:
The Adult Survivors Act (S.66 Hoylman / A.648 L. Rosenthal): Modeled after the Child Victims Act, this bill gives a one-year window to currently time-barred adult survivors of sexual assault to bring a civil case against a perpetrator or negligent institution. There are many reasons why survivors do not come forward right away – including trauma, fear, retaliation, economic dependency on an abuser, and immigration status. All survivors deserve an adequate pathway to justice.
Include New York State and all public employers as employers subject to the provisions of the human rights law (S.3395-A Gounardes / A.2483-B Niou): This bill eliminates the “license to harass” by codifying that under the New York State Human Rights Law, staff of elected and appointed officials are employees of the governmental entity(ies) for which they work, whether it is New York State, or a city, county, or municipality. Current federal Title VII contains a carve-out for the “personal staff” of elected officials, exempting those workers from protections against discrimination and harassment. This has been used to deny employees recourse. Some government entities have argued that they are not the employer of a victim who works for an elected or appointed official. This distinction has been used to try to deny employees legal recourse for the harassment, discrimination, abuse, or retaliation they suffered.
A real statewide “$15 for All,” including immediate executive action requiring all restaurant employers to pay the state’s full minimum wage with tips on top: This executive order would raise the state’s subminimum wage for tipped workers from 66 percent of the minimum wage to 100 percent of it, potentially over five years (2026). The seven states that already require restaurants to pay One Fair Wage have one half the rate of sexual harassment as states that require employers to pay the federal subminimum wage for tipped workers. Thus, this executive action would immediately and substantively decrease the incidence of sexual harassment in one of New York’s largest industries.
Providing grant support to independent restaurant employers who have committed to an immidate transition to the $15 minimum wage with tips on top: Mayors and governors in six states have implemented the High Road Kitchens program, which provides grant support to restaurateurs who commit to paying a $15 minimum wage with tips on top and are undergoing a three-part Equity Training program that teaches them how to profitably raise wages and equity in their businesses, including addressing rampant sexual harassment in the industry. In New York, this program could have special focus on women-owned and BIPOC-owned restaurants.
Expanding the statute of limitation on employment discrimination (S.849-A Gounardes / A.2233-A L. Rosenthal): Extends the statute of limitations for harassment suits to six years. Currently, survivors only have three years to file their claim in court before the statute of limitations expires. Processing trauma and choosing to move forward in a formal and public way can take much longer than three years.
Solutions Not Suspensions Act (A.5197 Nolan / S.7198 Jackson): Encourage the use of positive and age-appropriate disciplinary strategies and eliminate the use of out-of-school suspensions for minor infractions, among other provisions. Across New York State, students of color, students with disabilities, and students that identify as LGBTQ and gender non-conforming are subject to discriminatory, disparate, punitive, and unfair school discipline policies and practices. Students collectively lose hundreds of thousands of days in the classroom each year because of suspensions, often for normal youthful behavior. Black and Latinx girls are disproportionately impacted by the state’s biased and ineffective school discipline policies. Outside of NYC, Black girls in elementary/middle school are 4 times more likely to be suspended compared to white girls in elementary school. Outside of NYC, Black girls in high school are 9 times more likely to be suspended compared to white girls in high school. In NYC, Latinx girls are 3 times more likely to be suspended and Black girls are 8 times more likely to be suspended than their white peers.
Executive action to authorize the Office of Victim Services to accept alternative documentation, other than a police report, when considering the eligibility of crime victim reimbursement: This action will make grants more accessible to men of color, undocumented New Yorkers, criminalized survivors, and victims of police violence.
Reform the State’s Ethics Oversight System: Since its creation, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics –– the ethics body tasked with holding legislators and their staff accountable for all ethics violations including gender-based harassment and discrimination –– has been harnessed for political cover. Combined with the similar lack of independence of the other various state entities that play a role in maintaining accountability (such as the Inspector General’s Office, Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, and the Legislative Ethics Commission), it’s not surprising to see how people in positions of power continue to get away with corruption, harassment, and other abusive behaviors. The entire system must be rebuilt, and this cannot be done in a silo (which is how we got to where we are today). Public hearings carry powerful and unique value – creating space for experts, advocates, and people with lived experiences to share their stories and recommendations. Governor Hochul can and should convene a series of public hearings on how to best address ethical issues, including and especially harassment and discrimination, in state government.
Increase Transparency: The key to public faith in their elected leaders’ decisions is good communication and transparency. Clear, enforceable statements of ethical standards and guidelines that are put in place to deal with conflicts of interest are imperative to maintaining credibility with the public and the press. New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and Open Meetings Law have not been effectively updated in decades, and the previous administration was infamous for its disregard of those laws. Governor Hochul can and should strike a new note of transparency and openness, starting with assuring that her administration supports prompt and open compliance with FOIL requests rather than obfuscation and delay, and providing verifiable details on how the administration will deal with conflicts of interest. In doing so, she will set herself apart from the Cuomo Administration.
Empowering People in Rights Enforcement (EmPIRE) Worker Protection Act (S.12 Hoylman / A.5876 Joyner): A majority of New York employers (55 percent) use forced arbitration clauses to deny workers the right to go before a judge and jury when companies break the law. It is justice denied in the fine print! Female workers (57.6 percent) and Black workers (59.1 percent) are subjected to forced arbitration at the highest rates. Once a worker has signed a forced arbitration clause, one of the only options to address violations is private arbitration, where the deck is stacked against workers and in favor of employers. Faced with this choice and the staggering cost of arbitration, 98 percent of workers abandon their claims and law-breaking employers get off the hook. The EmPIRE Act empowers New Yorkers to combat retaliation, pay discrimination, and other labor violations by allowing whistleblowers to file claims on behalf of the state against an employer for violations of State labor laws and brings much-needed revenue into the state’s coffers through fines on abusive employers.
Expand Insurance Coverage for Women and Immigrants: The Hochul Administration must look for ways to expand health insurance coverage for women and immigrants in her first Executive Budget Proposal. Women are more likely to manage the healthcare needs of their families, and women immigrants, in particular, lack access to health insurance. Quality and accessible health and mental health services are also vital to survivors of sexual and domestic violence.
Supportive Organizations:
ACT UP NY
Alliance for Quality Education
America Loves Kids
Bend the Arc
Bowen Public Affairs Consulting, Inc.
C.A. Goldberg, PLLC
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center
Carroll Gardens Association
Campaign for NY Health
Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC)
Citizen Action of New York
Commission of the Public’s Health System
Common Cause/NY
Crime Victims Treatment Center
Cuti Hecker Wang LLP
Dame
Day One New York, Inc.
Downstate Coalition for Crime Victims
Downtown Women for Change
Dr. Celia Mcintosh-McIntosh Advocacy and Consulting
Empire State Indivisible
Equity Now
Foundation for Survivors of Abuse
Greater NYC for Change
HEAL (Health, Environment, Agriculture, Labor) Food Alliance
Housing Works
Hunger Free America
Indivisible Mohawk Valley
Indivisible Nassau County
Indivisible Nation BK
Indivisible Ulster
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
Jews for Racial & economic Justice
Just Equity for Health
Literacy Assistance Center
Long Island Activists
Make the Road New York
Model Alliance
Morningside Heights Resistance
Nassau NOW/Patty Pastor, President
National Employment Law Project
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women’s Law Center
NELA/NY
New York Civic Engagement Table
New York Communities for Change
New York State Council of Churches
New York State Public Affairs Committee of the Junior Leagues
New York Working Families Party
Nobody Leaves Mid Hudson
Nonprofit New York
NYCD16-Indivisible
One Fair Wage
One Fair Wage Action
Outten & Golden LLP
Peekskill Progressives
Peer/NYPAN (Progressive East End Reformers)
Progressive Doctors
Progressive Schenectady
Progressive Women of Pelham
Release Aging People in Prison Campaign/RAPP
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Rochester Regional Coalition Against Human Trafficking
Safe Horizon
Sanctuary for Families
Sexual Harassment Working Group
Staten Island Women Who March
Strong Economy for All Coalition
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
The Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center
Together We Will Long Island
Tompkins County Progressives
UltraViolet
V-Day/One Billion Rising
Violence Intervention Program
VOCAL-NY
VOICE
Vote Run Lead
Women Together Global, Inc.
Worker Justice Center of NY
ZA’AKAH
Zevin Asset Management
Supportive Individuals:
200 victims & survivors of Columbia OB/GYN Robert Hadden, represented by Anthony T. DiPietro, Esq.
Alison Turkos, Survivor/Advocate
Alessandra Biaggi, Survivor/State Senator
Alysia Reiner, Actress/Activist
Alyssa Milano
Amelia Tramontano, Survivor/Advocate
Asher Lovy, Survivor/Advocate
Barbara Sibley
Bellamy Young
Beverly Neufeld
Brian Toale, Survivor/Advocate
Bridie Farrell
Camille Rivera, Survivor
Carrie Goldberg
Charlotte Clymer
Chris Gavagan, Survivor/Documentarian
Christy Turlington Burns
Donald Gardner
Elish Melchiade, Survivor
Emilia Decaudin, Democratic District Leader
Emily Adams, executive committee member of the NYS Democratic Committee
Holly G. Atkinson
Ilse Knecht, Director of Policy & Advocacy, Joyful Heart Foundation
Jane Fonda
Jessica B., Survivor
Jessica González-Rojas, Survivor
Kristin Wunder, MPH
Marissa Hoechstetter, Survivor/Advocate
Mariah Grant, Survivor/Advocate
Mary Ellen O’Loughlin, Survivor & Executive Director of the Foundation for Survivors of Abuse
Melanie D’Arrigo, Survivor
Natasha Anushri Anandaraja, MD, MPH
Nicolas Suarez
Rosanna Arquette
Rosie O’Donnell
Sally Kohn
Sarah Suarez
Susan Celia Swan
Taylor Schilling
V (formerly Eve Ensler)
Yuh-Line Niou, Survivor
Supportive Small Businesses:
baodega
Barbara Sibley, Owner, La Palapa Restaurant
Chamo’s Arepas Bar
Coast and Valley
Dirt Candy
Elisa’s Love Bites Dessert Atelier
La Adelita de Woodside
McIntosh Advocacy and Consulting
momofuku
Nick’s Luncheonette LLC, DBA Gaskins
PLG Hospitality LLC
Punda Tibetan Restaurant
RAISE High Road Restaurants
Sarah Suarez, Owner, Gaskins Restaurant
Thai BKK
Tin Chi House
Uthai
Gotham Gazette
As New York City continues to navigate the fallout of COVID-19, a new crisis is upon us. In October 2020, nearly 40% of New Yorkers reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. In January 2021, The New York Times reported fivefold increases in psychologist services and long waiting lists for mental health care. A mental health crisis in New York City is playing out among family members in cramped apartments; among frontline workers providing essential services in grocery aisles, delivery trucks, and emergency rooms; and increasingly in the city’s public spaces like sidewalks and subways.
Our city is not unique in facing a public mental health emergency. However, one piece of good news is that we are uniquely prepared to respond.
Though often maligned by some, the ThriveNYC initiative has consolidated and strengthened New York City’s broad spectrum of mental health services, from efforts to destigmatize asking for help to intensive 24/7 treatment for people living with serious mental illness. While public policy efforts must be—and are—held accountable for resource allocation and results, ThriveNYC’s innovation in how a large and complex city approaches its residents’ mental health is the kind of groundbreaking civic initiative that has long-defined New York City.
By and large, ThriveNYC has created a robust citywide infrastructure of mental health services that are now pivoting to rapidly respond to New Yorkers’ increasingly urgent needs. Cutting funding to ThriveNYC—as has been suggested by some candidates running for Mayor—would cause significant harm to hundreds of thousands of individuals in need of assistance; individuals who currently rely on ThriveNYC programs. Such cuts would disproportionately impact communities of color and people who rely on publicly-funded health services, the very individuals and communities most severely impacted by COVID-19. And they would directly hinder the city’s recovery from the mental health crisis surging in the pandemic’s wake.
Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have relied on the more than 30 programs ThriveNYC has funded since 2016. This is possible through the partnerships ThriveNYC has fostered with more than 200 nonprofit organizations, many of which have been working for years to provide New Yorkers facing difficult challenges with the holistic, wraparound care they need not just to survive but to succeed. While these organizations receive funding from diverse sources, ThriveNYC’s commitment to funding innovative approaches to mental health has allowed us to deliver the cutting-edge services that people in a city as complex as New York need and deserve.
These innovative services mean help is available in schools, senior centers, homeless shelters, or wherever in the community someone calls home. It means support for mothers with newborn babies, for veterans, and for New York City employees. It means victim advocates in police precincts citywide. It means intensive services for individuals with serious mental illness involved in the court system.
Community-based organizations funded by ThriveNYC are the frontline defense against the mental health crisis New York now faces, a crisis likely to be experienced as individual and community trauma long after the last vaccine is administered. Recovery as a city from this pandemic requires continuing investment in mental health. Let’s leverage the investment we’ve made in ThriveNYC to help all New Yorkers bounce back.
***
Joel Copperman is the CEO of CASES and Liz Roberts is the CEO of Safe Horizon. We are joined in this statement by Muzzy Rosenblatt, Bowery Residents Committee, Amy Dorin, The Coalition for Behavioral Health, Traci Donnelly, The Child Center of NY, Michelle Yanche, Good Shepherd Services, David Garza, Henry Street Settlement, Mitchell Netburn, Samaritan Daytop Village, and Keith Little, SCO Family of Services.
Read the original article here.
April 2, 2021
By Evangeline Chan and Queenie Ng
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, racism and violence against the Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has increased. Racism manifests in different ways and our communities have experienced everything from physical attacks, verbal harassment, and violence leading to death, as seen in the fatal shootings at Atlanta-based massage parlors in March 2021.
At Safe Horizon, we believe racism is violence. We stand with the AAPI communities who have experienced the trauma of racism long before the pandemic and even more so now. We also call for advocates and allies to come together and support our fellow community members.
If you find yourself asking how you can help, show up and be an ally to the AAPI community, here are six ways to do so:
As the nation’s leading victim assistance organization, we provide support, prevent violence, and promote justice for all victims of crime and abuse, including victims of hate crimes. To learn more about how Safe Horizon helps hate crime victims click here. You can also call our 24-hour hotline at 1-800-621-HOPE (4673) or visit our emergency help page.
Solidarity is about doing this work together. Only together can we begin to combat racism and hate.
March 17, 2021
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Safe Horizon, Inc. and ASISTA Immigration Assistance filed a lawsuit today against the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), in federal court in the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs are suing to compel the agencies to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request seeking information on changes to USCIS’s practices that are making it more difficult for noncitizens to obtain lawful immigration status under the U-visa program—a humanitarian remedy specifically reserved for immigrants who have been victims of serious, often violent crime.
For immigrant survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault like Angela Harriet*, obtaining a U-visa can mean protection from the abuser as well as from deportation. When Angela applied for her U-visa, she told USCIS that police had once arrested her after her abusive ex-partner falsely accused her of assault, but the charge was later dismissed and the records sealed. She provided a court certificate confirming the dismissal, and USCIS granted her U-visa in 2013. However, as alleged in the Complaint, starting in 2018, USCIS began requiring all underlying records related to any prior contact with the criminal justice system, including such minor contacts where charges were dismissed, arrests did not lead to charges, or records were sealed. When Angela later applied for her “green card” based on her U-status, USCIS demanded that she unseal the records of her arrest. It ultimately denied her green card application, refusing to simply accept the court certificate as it had done before.
Despite this marked shift, USCIS never announced that it had changed its practice, or published any new practice guidance, advisory, or notice. Now, it has failed for over a year to provide any documents or substantive response to Plaintiffs’ FOIA request seeking information about its new practice of requiring records beyond the court certificate.
“USCIS’s decision to hide its U-visa adjudication practices poses a gratuitous and harmful challenge to the most vulnerable humanitarian applicants and the immigration organizations that assist them,” said Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP partner Akiva Shapiro, lead counsel for plaintiffs. “By withholding information about its policies and practices, USCIS is preventing immigrant and victims-of-violence support organizations from doing the important work of developing an accurate understanding of what is required for certain immigration applications , and advising applicants accordingly. It is depriving immigrant applicants of the chance for fully informed representation when presenting their cases,” said Evangeline M. Chan, Director of Safe Horizon’s Immigration Law Project.
“We hope that this lawsuit finally compels USCIS to comply with the law, and finally brings to light the new policies USCIS has been keeping hidden,” added Amy Cheung, Senior Legal Counsel at ASISTA.
A copy of the Complaint can be found here.
*name has been changed to protect client privacy
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Plaintiff Safe Horizon is the largest nonprofit victim services agency in the United States. Safe Horizon provides support for people who have experienced domestic and intimate partner violence, child physical and sexual abuse, rape and sexual assault, human trafficking, stalking, youth homelessness, and violent crimes committed against a family member and within communities. Safe Horizon’s work affects the lives of more than 250,000 children, adults, and families affected by crime and abuse throughout New York City each year. Safe Horizon’s Immigration Law Project offers legal representation to survivors of violence seeking immigration relief. It serves over 1,000 clients seeking immigration relief each year, a majority of whom are eligible for U-visas.
Plaintiff ASISTA is a legal nonprofit whose mission is to advance the dignity, rights, and liberty of immigrant survivors of violence. ASISTA trains legal representatives of noncitizen survivors of violence, advocates for advances in policy, publishes training materials, and runs training programs that educate the public, legal practitioners, civil and criminal court judges, government officials, advocates, and law enforcement officers about immigration law and practice. A membership organization with over 500 members, ASISTA also partners with numerous other immigration organizations and legal practitioners nationwide, who collectively serve thousands of U-visa-eligible victims of qualifying crimes.
Safe Horizon and ASISTA are being represented in this lawsuit by Akiva Shapiro, Katie Marquart, Alyssa Kuhn, Cassarah Chu, and Emil N. Nachman of the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
March 16, 2021
Contact: communications@safehorizon.org, 646-306-1136
NEW YORK – Safe Horizon, the nation‘s largest victim services agency, appoints Lisa A. O’Connor, PhD as its Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Dr. O’Connor will also continue to serve as the organization’s Chief Program Officer.
Dr. O’Connor’s experience in child welfare, juvenile justice, substance abuse, and social policy encompasses a 25-year-career. Prior to joining Safe Horizon in 2013, she was Vice President for Children and Family Services at The New York Foundling where she held executive responsibility for specialized preventive services, residential placement and support functions of the organization.
Dr. O’Connor also served as Assistant Commissioner for Program Analysis and Development at the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), where she was responsible for contract management, program analysis and reporting, and program development.
“Lisa’s commitment to supporting and empowering children, youth and families is extraordinary. During her tenure at Safe Horizon, she has led on many fronts: building a culture of learning, developing innovative practices, and integrating an anti-racist approach across our programs and practice. She brings exceptional leadership, experience and dedication to the work we do with survivors.” said Liz Roberts, Safe Horizon CEO.
“I have dedicated my entire adult life to helping victims of violence find support and healing. I’m honored to continue to support and lead the tremendous work that happens at Safe Horizon in this capacity,” said Dr. O’Connor.
Dr. O’Connor holds a PhD from Columbia University and a BA in Psychology from Smith College.
About Safe Horizon
Established in 1978, Safe Horizon is the largest non-profit victim services agency in the United States. It touches the lives of more than 250,000 children, adults, and families affected by crime and abuse throughout New York City each year. Safe Horizon envisions a society free of family and community violence, leading the way by empowering victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking to move from crisis to confidence. Safe Horizon‘s mission is to provide support, prevent violence and promote justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families, and communities. For more information, please visit safehorizon.org.
February 2021
By Michelle Lawrence
Black History Month is traditionally a time to reflect on our history which is full of triumph amid centuries of struggle. Although there is no way to avoid the hurt and pain that we have experienced and continue to experience, we need to uplift Black joy and insist on more moments of Trauma-free Blackness to celebrate ourselves and to heal our hearts, bodies, and souls.
February 16, 2021
Contact: communications@safehorizon.org, 646-306-1136
Roberts brings a decade of experience at Safe Horizon and a 30-year career in victim services
NEW YORK – Safe Horizon, the nation’s largest victim services agency, announced Liz Roberts as its fourth Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Roberts most recently served as Safe Horizon’s interim CEO following the departure of long-time CEO, Ariel Zwang. Roberts will be the agency’s fourth CEO.
Roberts has been with Safe Horizon for a decade. She initially joined Safe Horizon as its Chief Program Officer, then assumed the role of Deputy CEO. Before joining Safe Horizon, Roberts served as Deputy Commissioner for Family Support Services at the city’s Administration for Children’s Services. Her 34-year career in victim services began as a domestic violence hotline worker.
“Safe Horizon provides life-saving support to New Yorkers every single day, and it deserves a leader worthy of that mission. Liz will be that leader,” said Board Chair Mike Slocum. “Her experience, leadership abilities, expertise, and compassion ensure that Safe Horizon will continue to serve victims in need with excellence.”
“I have dedicated my entire adult life to helping victims of violence find support and healing. There isn’t an organization in the world that does that better than Safe Horizon. I am honored to have the responsibility of leading this incredible organization,” said Roberts.
Elected and Appointed Officials Congratulate Liz Roberts
New York City Councilmember Helen Rosenthal said, “I commend the Board of Directors at Safe Horizon for selecting Liz Roberts to be the new CEO. She brings many decades of experience advocating for victims of child abuse, domestic violence and other crimes, and is deeply committed to building safer communities, fighting for social justice and advancing racial equity. I have relied on Safe Horizon over the years to respond to constituent needs, provide expert testimony before the City Council and help shape critical legislation, and I look forward to continuing this partnership with Liz at the organization’s helm.”
New York State Office of Victim Services Director, Elizabeth Cronin, said, “The Office of Victim Services proudly supports the work of Safe Horizon, one of more than 200 community-based programs funded by OVS that provide critical services to victims of crime and their families in New York City and across the state. The agency will be well served with Liz Roberts at the helm. We look forward to continuing our partnership and building on our work to ensure that victims and survivors have access to help and support whenever they need it.”
Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte said, “When I cast my vote for the Child Victims Act in January 2019, a bill that expanded access to the courts for survivors of child abuse, I took the opportunity to share with my colleagues in the legislature that I, too, was a survivor and that this legislation was deeply personal. With the help of the team at Safe Horizon, I helped spread the word to New Yorkers across the state that survivors now had greater access to justice. This morning’s announcement that Safe Horizon’s Board of Directors selected a lifelong advocate in Liz Roberts to be their new CEO assures me that this organization will continue to be a relentless fighter for justice and for safer communities. I congratulate Liz and look forward to continuing our important work together.”
Senator Brad Hoylman said, “I have had the honor and privilege of partnering with Safe Horizon over the years to pass landmark legislation including the Child Victims Act with Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal which reformed New York’s antiquated statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual
abuse. Today’s announcement that their Board of Directors has selected Liz Roberts to be the organization’s new CEO is great news for the victim advocacy movement. Liz brings decades of experience fighting on behalf of victims of child abuse, domestic violence and other crimes. I look forward to working with Liz and her team to build safe communities throughout New York.”
Susan Herman, Director of the Mayor’s Office of ThriveNYC, said, “Liz Roberts is a thoughtful, nationally regarded leader who sets high standards for quality victim services. She is the perfect choice to usher in the next chapter of Safe Horizon’s great work on behalf of victims of crime in New York City. I have no doubt she will be as bold and creative as these challenging times require.”
Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan), Chair of the Assembly Committee on Social Services, said, “Congratulations to Liz Roberts on being named Safe Horizon’s Chief Executive Officer. Safe Horizon’s dynamic advocacy is needed now more than ever. Liz has a deep well of knowledge and experience that will ensure Safe Horizon continues its long tradition of dogged advocacy on behalf of victims and survivors. I worked closely with Safe Horizon for years as it helped lead the charge to pass the Child Victims Act in New York, and I look forward to our continued partnership, with Liz now capably at the helm.”
New York City Councilmember Stephen Levin said, “now more than ever before, we need strong and capable leadership in our social services providers – especially in those dealing with trauma. It is critical that we build and restore trust with the communities we all work to serve. I applaud the decision of the Board of Directors of Safe Horizon for selecting Liz Roberts to be the new Chief Executive Officer. Her decades of experience advocating for families, for victims of child abuse and supporting policy makes her a champion in her work and in this collective all-hands-on-deck effort. I welcome this move and congratulate Ms. Roberts on her new position.”
Cecile Noel, Commissioner, NYC Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, said, “Liz’s extraordinary expertise and deep commitment to survivors inspire those of us in this field daily. As the City recovers from the pandemic, Safe Horizon will play a critical role in addressing the health, safety and wellbeing of vulnerable families and individuals. I can think of no one better than Liz to safeguard Safe Horizon’s mission.”
Assembly Member Catalina Cruz said, “During my tenure in the State Assembly, we have passed many important bills that have a deep impact on New Yorkers in my district and across the state. One of those bills – the Child Victims Act, which increased avenues to justice for survivors of childhood sexual abuse – was important not just to my constituents but to me personally. I am a survivor, and with the help of Safe Horizon I have told my story and encouraged others to do the same. Today’s announcement that the Board of Directors has selected Liz Roberts to be their new CEO fills me with joy, as I know that she has spent her entire professional career advocating on behalf of victims of violence and abuse. I congratulate Liz and look forward to continuing to partner with Safe Horizon to help create safer communities for all New Yorkers.”
New York City Councilmember Vanessa L. Gibson, Co-Chair of the NYC Council Women`s Caucus, said, “Congratulations to Liz Roberts on her appointment as the new Safe Horizon CEO. She had the arduous task of leading Safe Horizon as interim CEO during a tremulous time in our city’s history as we continued to combat a global health crisis. The need for support was great prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is even more imperative that we have resources in place for survivors and other vulnerable populations. I look forward to our continued work together in her new position providing support for New Yorkers.”
New York City Councilmember Farah N. Louis, Co-Chair of the New York City Council Women`s Caucus, said, “For over a decade, Liz Roberts has been an advocate for survivors of abuse and gender-based violence. Her years of experience, dedication, and proven leadership before and during the COVID-19 pandemic are vital to the continuity of services from Safe Horizon for thousands of families across our city. This organization has been an invaluable resource for my constituents in District 45 as well as the
New York City Council Women’s Caucus. Congratulations and thank you for your continued partnership as the new CEO.”
Safe Horizon helps 250,000 New Yorkers a year who are victims of crime or abuse find safety, support, hope, and connection.
About Safe Horizon
Established in 1978, Safe Horizon is the largest non-profit victim services agency in the United States. It touches the lives of more than 250,000 children, adults, and families affected by crime and abuse throughout New York City each year. Safe Horizon envisions a society free of family and community violence, leading the way by empowering victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking to move from crisis to confidence. Safe Horizon’s mission is to provide support, prevent violence and promote justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families, and communities. For more information, please visit safehorizon.org.
QNS
By Susan Herman
February 3, 2021
Excerpt:
When you hear people talking about whether ThriveNYC should be cut – and with political campaigns already heating up, you might – know what that would mean for Queens residents: cutting the mental health support that’s all around you.
Today, ThriveNYC programs are on the ground providing innovative mental health services in Queens, from Astoria to the Rockaways and from Ridgewood to Queens Village.
In fact, because of ThriveNYC, there are more mental health services available in Queens today than there have ever been. The support comes in many different forms, and citywide, is provided by nearly 200 community-based organizations that New Yorkers know and trust. When you think of ThriveNYC, think of them.
Think of Queens Community House, which helps arrange visits and calls between volunteers and isolated older adults through a program managed by the Department for the Aging. Or think of any of the ten Older Adult Centers throughout Queens, including Sunnyside Community Center and the Theodora G. Jackson Center Adult Center, where social workers are now on staff to serve the mental health needs of aging New Yorkers through the Community Advisory Program for the Elderly (CAPE).
In partnership with ThriveNYC and the NYPD, Safe Horizon – the nation’s leading victim services agency – supports victim of crime in every precinct in the city, including all 16 precincts and Police Service Areas in Queens. The advocates offer counseling, safety planning, advocacy, and practical assistance to anyone harmed by crime, violence, or abuse. More than half are bilingual, so victims of crime in Jackson Heights can receive support in Spanish while Flushing residents get help in Chinese. And because of Thrive’s partnership, trusted community organizations in Queens – like Voces Latinas, Sheltering Arms, and CAMBA – are better equipped to address the mental health needs of the people they serve.