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Facing an Impossible Bureaucracy, HASA Clients Speak Out
They knew the eviction notice was coming, but when it did, it hit Richard Huddleston and Nelson Alston like a rock. They owed nearly $3,000 in unpaid rent, according to the letter.
“It was appalling,” said Alston, 49. “Of course I was worried, I’ve seen it happen to so many other people.”
Six years ago Huddleston and Alston turned to the HIV/AIDS Services Administration for help accessing benefits like food stamps and rental assistance. Complications related to AIDS prevented the two from working full-time jobs. What they found, however, was that HASA—responsible for facilitating the benefits process—was so inefficient and error-prone that they would eventually need the support of a legal team to access the services to which they were entitled.
…Posted on October 13, 2010 at 7:20 pm
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Saying Goodbye to Abstinence-Only Funding?
After weeks of work by activists across the nation, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) have introduced a bill that would end almost all federal funding of abstinence-only sex education.
The bill, called the Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act of 2010, would redirect the last major federal funding stream dedicated to abstinence-only programs. Those funds, totaling $50 million a year, would instead go to the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), a comprehensive sex education program.
“I think this is a trend on a couple fronts,” said Sarah Audelo, senior manager of domestic policy at Advocates for Youth, which, as part of a coalition, launched a campaign to get representatives to introduce the bill. “One, we …
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 3:47 pm
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New York State to Make Hefty Payout to Nonprofits, But It’s Too Little, Too Late
New York legislators say they want to save the state money, but the late budget and bureaucratic snags are officially costing the state hundreds of thousands of dollars.
After New York failed to pay tens of millions of dollars to AIDS nonprofits this spring and summer—a delay due in part to the late budget finalization—a spokesman at the Department of Health has confirmed that New York will pay three percent interest on those late payments.
This will be a hefty slice of cash (no word from the DOH on exactly how much) coming from taxpayers’ pockets. But the interest will do barely anything for the nonprofits, many of whom took out expensive emergency loans—at rates far higher than three percent—in order to …
Posted on October 7, 2010 at 5:21 pm
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Obama Administration Global Fund Pledge Falls Short
In a profound disappointment for global AIDS activists, donor countries pledged just $11.7 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Tuesday. That number fell short of the $13 billion needed to simply continue treatment at current levels—and far short of the $20 billion the Fund had requested to meet worldwide treatment goals.
The announcement confirmed activists’ fears that the unparalleled progress against global AIDS made by the Fund since 2002 could be reversed as nations backtrack on funding promises. And in the U.S., many activists believe that Obama is leading the retrenchment from worldwide treatment access.
The Obama administration, “is basically running global AIDS policy into the ground,” said Gregg Gonsalves, a founding member of …
Posted on October 6, 2010 at 5:18 pm
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Give the Works This Season
The Works Catering brings new meaning to celebrating the holidays. Since 1997, we have produced corporate affairs, benefits, and personalized events with our stylish execution and community-minded business model. Give The Works this season and share in the spirit of knowing all proceeds provide lifesaving services to homeless and low income men and women living with HIV/AIDS. Visit housingworks.org/theworks or call 212.780.1942
Posted on October 6, 2010 at 5:16 pm
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HASA Report Downplays Egregious Delays, Growing SRO Crisis
New York City AIDS advocates would have been laughing at last week’s annual HIV/AIDS Services Administration report—if they hadn’t been so angry.
The gaps in the report only reinforce the agency’s years-long refusal to address the same persistent problems: chronic delays in access to housing and an increasing number of HIV-positive New Yorkers stacked up in Single Room Occupancy units rather than living in long-term housing.
The report, released by the Mayor’s Office of Operations, highlights a two-day improvement in the amount of time it takes the agency to approve an application to become a HASA client, a change made thanks “to electronic enhancements to the application process.”
Such reforms, however, are nearly meaningless if case managers aren’t acting …
Posted on October 6, 2010 at 12:43 pm
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It’s official: Fall Fashion Previews are a wrap!
Congratulations to all of our stores and a special thanks to all those dedicated and hard-working volunteers that helped us bring in a whopping $1,480,460 through our thrift stores’ sales during the month of September.
With the help of our dear friends at Bar Nine we celebrated our first ever “Housing Works’ Happy Hour” in conjunction with the final Fall Fashion Preview of the month at our Hell’s Kitchen thrift shop (730-732 9th Avenue). Housing Works’ customers were awarded a complimentary drink ticket courtesy of Bar Nine with their purchase at the Hell’s Kitchen Preview sale.Bar Nine, in all its stereotypical neighborhood dive bar glory is located on “Restaurant Row’, Ninth Avenue, nestled between 53rd and 54th streets. The bar hosts various regular …
Posted on October 5, 2010 at 10:22 pm
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Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities:
THRIFT SHOPS WAREHOUSE WEEKEND VOLUNTEERS
What: We need help bar-coding, tagging and assisting our hard-working PDC staff at our thrift shops warehouse in preparation for our annual Fashion for Action benefit
When: All October Saturdays: Oct. 9th, Oct. 16th, Oct. 23th, Oct. 30th
Where: Thrift Shops Warehouse, 4849 35th Street, Long Island City
Contact: Ira Botor Botor@housingworks.orgPERSONAL SHOPPERS AND FITTING ROOM SPECIALISTS FOR OUR THRIFT SHOPS
What: We’re looking for individuals interested in helping our customers find the absolute best bargains and most fabulous fits. This is a great volunteering opportunity for anyone with a true “passion for fashion”.
Read MorePosted on October 5, 2010 at 10:20 pm
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