COUNCIL MEMBER PALMA TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE ON BLOOMBERG’S AIDS BUDGET CUTS
New Yorkers like Leroy Rose will suffer if Bloomberg cuts go through
WHAT: Press conference opposing deep cuts to New York City’s AIDS housing services; Housing Works to announce possible lawsuit
WHO: General Welfare Committee City Council Chair Annabel Palma and a dozen AIDS groups, including the city’s largest: Housing Works, GMHC, Harlem United and Village Care (full list below)
WHY: Mayor Bloomberg has proposed $7 million in devastating cuts to AIDS services, including cuts that violate Local Law 49 and a federal court order
WHEN: 9 AM, TUESDAY MAY 18
WHERE: City Hall Steps
New Yorkers living with AIDS and HIV and their advocates will be joining Council Member and General Welfare Committee Chair Annabel Palma on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday, May 18 at 9am to unite against Bloomberg’s proposed cuts to the city’s HIV/AIDS housing services.
Angered at the Bloomberg Administration’s repeated attempts to illegally dismantle city services for people living with AIDS and HIV, Council Members and advocates are joining forces to speak against the Mayor’s 2010-2011 Executive Budget proposal. The Mayor’s Budget calls for the elimination of one-third of the city’s case managers from HRA’s HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA), which violates Local Law 49 and a federal court order.
“HASA caseworkers are charged with connecting individuals living with HIV/AIDS to lifesaving benefits and entitlements,” said Palma. “Recent HRA data reveals that the City is currently violating the provisions of Local Law 49, which mandates that the overall HASA caseload ratio not exceed 1 caseworker per 34 clients. HRA’s proposed cut of 248 HASA caseworker positions not only threatens the health and well-being of those suffering with HIV/AIDS, but also fails to comply with the provisions of Local Law 49 – we simply cannot afford this cut.”
Bloomberg’s proposed HASA cut will make it impossible for New Yorkers with AIDS, like Leroy Rose, to get the lifesaving services that they need. “If they cut case managers, it will be even more difficult to reach my HASA worker for services. She is supposed to visit my home every month to make sure the electric is on and that my housing is secure, but in the last eight months, I have only seen her one time,” Rose said.
Housing Works is prepared to sue New York City if Mayor Bloomberg’s cuts are enacted. Having fought for many years to force the city into compliance, Senior Staff Attorney Armen H. Merjian said Housing Works will immediately file a lawsuit if the cuts are approved.
“We will absolutely go to court and we will sue for contempt of court,” he said. “But we are hopeful the mayor will withdraw this unconscionable proposal. It is illegal and contemptuous, in every sense of the word.”
In addition to the cuts to case managers, Mayor Bloomberg’s budget proposal also fails to restore cuts to supportive housing and food and nutrition programs contracted through HASA, which cuts essential services for HASA’s most vulnerable clients.
This press conference is being sponsored by Bailey House, CitiWide Harm Reduction, Community Healthcare Network, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), Harlem United Community AIDS Center, HIV Law Project, Housing Works, Inc., New York AIDS Budget Action Coalition (NYABAC), New York AIDS Coalition, New York Association on HIV Over Fifty, New York City AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN), Village Care, and the Women’s HIV Collaborative (list in formation). Palma is the Chair of the General Welfare Committee, which oversees city AIDS funding for housing and other social services. The press conference takes place on the day of the committee’s final 2010 budget hearing.
Posted on May 17, 2010 at 7:06 pm
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