September 28, 2007
COMMITMENT TO CHANGE
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The East New York Gospel Choir shows Housing Works' fighting spirit |
Housing Works is (in)famous for its fierce advocacy so it was no surprise that our annual meeting at Harlem's Schomburg Center on Wednesday highlighted two of our ongoing battles: Making sure that all low-income New Yorkers with HIV/AIDS are protected from Draconian rent increases and expanding New York City's HIV/AIDS Services Administration benefits to include all low-income people with HIV (read all about both in our 2007 Annual Report.)
Although the meeting had its customary celebratory and commemorative mood—established by the East New York Gospel Choir out of our East New York Adult Day Health Center—Housing Works president and CEO Charles King reminded the community from the podium that HASA for All is the "single most important thing we can do to end the AIDS epidemic in New York City." An emotional video chronicled another major 2007 effort: Housing Works' campaign to reverse a Pataki-era policy imposing rent increases on people with HIV living in supportive housing—as well as noting our hopes of expanding rent protections and benefits to all poor people with HIV statewide. And Housing Works Chief Financial Officer Andrew Coamey pointed out that the organization would continue to dedicate five percent of its annual budget (which should work out to more than two million dollars) to advocacy and legal services.
"It was an opportune moment to talk about our advocacy because elected officials who can help us meet our goals were in the audience," said Housing Works Legislative Counsel Michael Kink. In attendance were New York City Councilmember Melissa Mark Viverito and State Senator Bill Perkins, both of whom serve Harlem, as well as a representative from New York congresswoman Yvette Clark's office, and a representative from City Councilmember Inez Dickens' office.
Housing Works annual meeting is an essential part of our calendar because Housing Works is a membership organization and its employees are accountable to its membership, which includes clients and volunteers. Highlights from the annual report brings the Housing Works community up to date on how we're doing, from our services to our human resources to our budget projections to, of course, our advocacy. The annual meeting is also a collective way of remembering those who have passed away in the last year—and throughout all the hard years of the AIDS epidemic.
And, of course, it's a chance to celebrate life: After the ceremony was over, the crowd adjourned to the lobby for dessert and dancing. Even the presence of four firemen who had come investigate a screeching alarm couldn't stop the party.