Doctors, Healthcare Providers & Advocates Demand Mayor Adams Stop the Sweeps During Homeless Rights Month

BRONX, NY (07/24/2022) (readMedia)-- As New York City enters its sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers from across the city including Dr. Oni Blackstock from Health Justice, providers from St Ann's Corner, The Urban Justice Center and Housing Works will join together to demand the city stop clearances of homeless encampments, provide proper isolation for the next COVID-19 wave and commit to expansion of permanently affordable housing. While the city touts plans to address homelessness, over 60,000 New Yorkers are still languishing in shelters.

Earlier this month, the NYPD cleared encampments in Chinatown without the Department of Social Services (DSS) even on site to offer services, forcing homeless New Yorkers to move to less safe locations, rather than getting them on a pathway to housing.

July is Homeless Rights Month, which began one year ago with a call from directly impacted advocates to stop the city's assaults on individuals experiencing homelessness. One year later little has changed, and advocates and directly impacted New Yorkers are once again joining together for a month of action, declaring July Homeless Rights Month in New York City.