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Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing
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Upcoming Events
July 12 - Rally in Support of Stronger Rent Laws
July 29 - House party to benefit the Interfaith Assembly's Panim El Panim Life-Skills Empowerment Program
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Life-Skills Programs Continue To Grow
- your help is encouraged
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The Assembly, in partnership with New York Catholic Charities,
established the Education Outreach Program in 1990. Since that time,
this life-skills program format has helped over 1,000 women and men in
the process of recovering from the
trauma associated their homelessness and rebuilding their lives.
Beginning in 2007, with support of a grant in memory of Andrew Stallman,
we have been able to reach out
to other faith communities and establish additional Life-Skills Empowerment Programs (LSEPs)
for people
who have been homeless, and most recently - in partnership with the
Reformed Church of Bronxville
and Hudson Link - for men who
had also been incarcerated.
This coming fall and spring, with the
additional support of a Signature Mission Grant from the New York Collegiate
Church Corporation, support from the Creative Ministries Program of the
Presbyterian Women of the Presbyterian Church USA, and support from Cordoba House, we
will be embarking on a number of new life-skills empowerment programs
including a program, entitled "Living Well" for women made homeless as a result of
domestic Violence and a program for veterans of our armed forces who have experienced
homelessness.
These programs depend on the support of many
volunteers who serve as mentors, session leaders and dinner hosts. If you would like to
learn more about these programs and are interested in becoming a
volunteer mentor or dinner host, please contact us at info@iahh.org
In addition if you
would like to underwrite the cost of a stipend for a life-skills program
participant for one semester - at a cost of $375, Please make a
contribution to the Assembly for this purpose by clicking on the icon in
the left column or send a check to the Interfaith Assembly, 48 St.
Marks Place, NY NY 10003
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The Assembly is Having a House Party
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We are pleased to announce that on Thursday, July 29th, thanks to a generous supporter, there will be a House Party to benefit the fall semester of the Interfaith Assembly's Panim El Panim Life-Skills empowerment program.
If you would like more details - or if you would like to host a house party of your own, please email us at info@iahh.org
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The Cornerstone:
The Newsletter of Interfaith Assembly
July 9, 2010
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Dear Friends,
In this edition of the Cornerstone, we are pleased to report some very good news on the restoration of section 8 vouchers. At the same time, we are calling on you and your colleagues to help bring some other campaigns to successful conclusions. We are also happy to report some exciting progress on our life-skills empowerment programs and invite you and your community to consider ways that you can be part of this work of healing and rebuilding. Thank you for your attention to these important matters. Please feel free to contact us at info@iahh.org or by phone at (212) 316-3171 with any questions about the issues covered in this newsletter - and thanks for sharing our newsletter with friends and colleagues. For more about the Interfaith Assembly's work please visit our website at iahh.org. |
Rally on Monday in NYC for Real Rent Reform
| After nearly 2 years of action and organizing on behalf of New York State low and moderate income renters, the New York State Senate was very close to passing a package of pro- tenant legislation in June. Tenants were promised a vote on our bills, and the Real Rent Reform Campaign mobilized to hold Senators to the promises they made not only these past weeks and this year, but over the past decades.
On Thursday night, the Senators went home, having passed a small number of housing bills but not one of the most crucial pieces of tenant legislation that R3 has been pushing. What happened?
The landlord lobbyists have gone all out to thwart our efforts by leaning hard on a couple of members of the Democratic conference who are beholden to the real estate industry (along with nearly all of the Republicans). Those Democrats threatened to vote against our bills, and the Senate Democratic leadership backed down. Everyone knows that landlords exercise virtual control over a few of the Democratic members - but that shouldn't enable a few members to force the leadership to set the agenda against the interests of New York's working families?
In response to this blocking of action on these important bills, the Real Rent Reform Campaign is calling for a
1- Mass Protest for Rent-Law Reforms
Monday, July 12, 2010
arrive by 11:30 AM for an action at NOON
Lower End of City Hall Park
Subway: R to City Hall, 2/3 to Park Place, 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge,
A/C to Chambers, E to World Trade Center
We are taking our demands for rent-law reforms to the streets. Our Demand: Our Senators must not leave Albany until they pass our tenant legislation.
In addition, some members of R3 will be expressing their outrage at the lack of action by participating in non-violent civil disobedience
2: Demand that our Senate Allies Block The End of Session
Until Tenant Bills Pass
We need every progressive Senator to be doing everything they can to make sure the Senate passing a package of pro-tenant housing bills before they go home for the year. Our Senators need to feel pressure from us to push them to step up, take leadership, and see that the Democratic Senate leadership brings pro-tenant bills to the floor to be passed before the end of session. Your voice counts!
Call your State Senator with a simple message:
Senator X. I am a tenant in your district, and I have been waiting for
decades for the Senate to finally do something for tenants. You claim
to be pro-tenant, but the landlords are clearly setting the agenda.
Tenants need you to pass the Real Rent Reform legislation before
ending the session!
To Democrats:
I am asking that you CALL SENATE DEMOCRATIC CONFERENCE LEADER JOHN SAMPSON AND TELL HIM THAT YOU WILL NOT VOTE FOR THE BUDGET DEAL UNTIL AFTER the Senate has brought the Real Rent Reform legislation to a full vote. If you really care about tenants, you need to take a stand - and the time to do so is NOW.
To find out who your Senator is, and to get the number to their office, go to http://www.nysenate.gov/senators. Call the district office of your State Senator, listed on their website.
3: Be on call to go to Albany whenever the Senate votes on our bills
All of these efforts are aimed at getting the NY State Senate to pass tenant legislation. If we get word of a vote, we need tenants to be ready to go to Albany on short notice. If you can be on call, please let us know to put you on the short list. Call Met Council on Housing (one of the many R3 member groups that will be mobilizing) at 212-979-6238 x200 or email: active@metcouncil.net or any tenant advocacy group you work with.
With Your Help, we can convince our elected officials to do the right thing for the poor and working families of New York and pass Real Rent Reform Legislation this year.
Look for the Interfaith Assembly Banner and join us on Monday, July 12 at 11:30 at the southern tip of City Hall Park and let our voices be heard
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National Housing Trust Fund Update - Action is still needed
| Senate leaders introduced another pared-down version of H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 (the extender bill), on Thursday, June 24. Funding for the National Housing Trust Fund and the several Low Income Housing Tax Credit provisions remained in the bill. Unfortunately, another cloture vote on June 24 failed 57-41, signaling that even the new version would not attract the 60 votes required to move the bill forward. The bill was taken up again before the July 4 recess.
The House passed H.R. 4213, the tax extender bill, with $1.065 billion for the NHTF in late May, but the Senate has not been able to get enough votes to pass the whole bill. We can't let legislators off the hook on the NHTF. The homes the NHTF will produce desperately needed to address the increase in family homelessness due to the recession, and so are the 18,900 jobs that project would produce.
Congress must provide $1.065 billion in funding for the National Housing Trust Fund before it recesses for the summer. Several bills could move before Congress adjourns, including the unemployment extension bill, a small business bill, and a supplemental appropriations bill that will include significant domestic spending.
We need you to help fight to have the NHTF included in one of these bills.
Call the Capitol switchboard at 877-210-5351 today and ask to speak to your Senators and Representative. Tell them that before they go on recess, they MUST provide $1.065 billion in funding for the National Housing Trust Fund, as part of any bill that moves before the session comes to a close. Our families and communities cannot wait!
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Federal Section 8 Vouchers are restored
| Thanks to the hard work of public officials, non-profit agencies and concerned community groups and individuals About 2,500 families whose promises of shelter were taken from them will have more certain futures now that city officials have reinstated Section 8 vouchers that were rescinded in December. City officials announced this week that a $32 million plan will restore the value of the vouchers, through a combination of funds from various governmental agencies. Thanks to many including Bill Deblasio, Cris Quinn, Scott Stringer, the Legal Aid Society and each of you who wrote or called over the past months for the persistent pressure and skill full negotiations with the New York City Housing Authority and the Mayors office for this important victory. to read more go to: www.iahh.org/blog/good-news-nyc-tenants |
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Inspired, strengthened and sustained by faith, the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing is committed to confronting the unconscionable and unacceptable reality of homelessness in New York City. Recognizing society's shared responsibility and working as partners with those who have experienced homelessness, the Assembly will mobilize communities of faith to empower all people, to advocate public policies to eliminate homelessness, and strive for the transformation of society.
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