Neil Berry is a Staten Island resident and leader with VOCAL-NY.
I’ve lived in New York City all my life. I have been homeless, used drugs and been criminalized in this city. You can’t go anywhere in the five boroughs without seeing someone who is going through just what I experienced. But when I look around today, I also see more opportunities for folks to get the care they need and service providers are doing their best to help New Yorkers facing multiple crises at once.
The services being offered are by no means enough to meet the complex challenges New Yorkers in crisis are facing, but depending on how our lawmakers respond, things could either get better, or drastically worse.
Mayor Eric Adams has proposed a city budget that would slash the already limited funding that goes toward supporting New York City’s most vulnerable. If this moves forward, the consequences will cost lives.
Some of the services on the line have helped New Yorkers of all ages, races and backgrounds. We’re talking about the public school programs that connect kids with counselors. And the peer navigators who help folks move out of the broken shelters and get into permanent, safe housing. It’s the libraries and literacy programs, like the one I volunteer at in Staten Island, that give the next generation the chance to learn the skills they need to achieve. These programs won’t solve decades of systemic inequality, but without them, we will be even worse off than we are at this moment.
What’s also included in Mayor Adams’ proposed budget: a blank check for the New York City Police Department and the Department of Corrections. Policing, criminalization and surveillance won’t be starved for funding like our services, which are at risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars. If his budget passes, low-income, Black, and Brown New Yorkers will have a better chance at being caged than getting the care they need.