Da Homeless Hero + Open Hearts Initiative on City Council General Welfare and Housing Chair Appointments

NEW YORK, NY (01/20/2022) (readMedia)-- Today, the New York City Council voted to confirm Diana Ayala as General Welfare Committee Chair, and Pierina Sanchez as Housing Committee Chair. In response, Shams DaBaron aka "Da Homeless Hero" and Sara Newman, Director of Organizing at Open Hearts Initiative, issued the following statements:

"I look forward to working with Council Members Ayala and Sanchez. While we haven't yet worked together on the issue of homelessness in your districts or elsewhere, I hope you will both be committed to ending the use of congregate shelters like those on Wards Island which are unsafe, inhumane, and frankly, uninhabitable. I want to work with you to replace those shelters with dignified dwellings that are designed holistically and only used to temporarily house people and not warehouse them, like stabilization beds and Safe Havens that lead to real pathways to housing. I hope you'll listen to us who have actually been there so we can work together to get New Yorkers off the streets, out of shelters, and into homes. This new Mayor has agreed to a Housing First policy and I want you to make that a reality in this City." said Shams DaBaron aka "Da Homeless Hero."

"The Open Hearts Initiative congratulates Council Members Ayala and Sanchez on their appointments as General Welfare and Housing committee chairs. COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted New York's homeless population, infecting homeless New Yorkers at a higher rate than those who are housed. The pandemic also shone a bright light on the limitations of our current system and underscored the powerful impact of giving people places to live that have privacy and dignity. There's a lot of work to do, but we know – and trust – Council Members Ayala and Sanchez are ready to get to work and prioritize solutions that homeless New Yorkers have long been calling for: a real focus on getting people into permanent housing, and more transitional housing options like Safe Havens and stabilization beds that provide dignified, non-carceral solutions to homelessness," said Sara Newman.