City Council members, advocates shine light on Bloomberg’s illegal AIDS cuts
Posted by , March 08, 2010 at 8:55pm
Merjian speaks at press conference as Palma watches on
City Council General Welfare Chair Annabel Palma and Council member Brett Lander on the steps of City Hall to protest illegal cuts to the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA). Although there are many cuts to social services in Bloomberg’s budget, Palma has singled out the cuts to HASA case managers as among Mayor Bloomberg’s most egregious.
Palma and Lander were joined by more than 50 AIDS advocates who held up signs that said “Bloomberg: Wanted for Illegal Budget Cuts” and chanted “You say cut back! We say fight back!” Advocates included those from Housing Works, New York City AIDS Housing Network, Harlem United, CitiWide Harm Reduction, Bailey House and Village Care of New York. Many are also testifiying at the General Welfare Committee is holding hearings about these cuts today.
“These cuts would be a disaster,” Palma said, before attending the General Welfare committee hearing. “These are people who need assistance to receive proper medical care.”
Mayor Bloomberg has proposed permanently eliminating 248 case worker positions (a 35 percent reduction). By increasing HASA case ratios, this proposal would also violate local law 49, a federal court order and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which maintains poor people with AIDS need assistance in accessing and maintaining their subsistence benefits, essentially a “ramp” to their benefits. Chief among these accommodations was the concept of “intensive case management,” with initial ratios of approximately 30 clients to one HASA case manager.
“This would be akin to Mayor Bloomberg deciding to get rid of all ramps for the disabled in New York City in order to save a tiny amount of money,” Housing Works Senior Staff Attorney Armen H. Merjian said at the press conference.
One press conference attendee, Blondel Gadson, lives in the Riverside Drive SRO and said she has had an “okay” experience with HASA, and is worried that it will get worse if there were even less case managers.
“My case worker has more than 1,000 clients,” she said. “I’ve been in Riverside Drive since January and I’m need help getting another place.” HASA case managers help place people with AIDS in SROs into permanent housing.
Other cuts Bloomberg proposed are cutting $1.9 million in city funding (for a total of nearly $3.8 million including the state match) for HASA-contracted supportive housing case management. Although this proposal was defeated last year, it will go into effect in the upcoming budget unless the mayor or City Council restore funding.
HASA case workers and community case managers serve separate purposes. HASA case workers help HASA clients receive benefits and community case managers,provide psychosocial case management. When asked if cuts to both can be avoided, Palma said, “I’m aware of these tough budgetary times [but] I’m an optimist. I’ll try to make sure we’re protecting both.”
In addition, Bloomberg has proposed cutting funding by 50 percent for the Momentum Project’s nine service sites around the city that serve hot meals to over 1,000 people with HIV/AIDS each year. Last year the Mayor proposed this same cut, but the funding was restored by City Council. At the press conference, Director of Public Policy for Village Care of New York, Matt Lesieur urged City Council to provide the same restoration this year, so the program can continue.
We will continue to keep you updated about these proposed cuts, and the City Council General Welfare hearings today.
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