Justice Ministries Committee Newsletter

June 7, 2024

Don't be dismayed by the brokenness in the world. All things break and all things can be mended. Not with time as they say but with intention. So go love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness

for the light that is you.

-Joan Montbach-

Criminal Justice

June 17 - Rally - 12 Noon

Rally & Submit Comments to Implement Local Law 42 Ending Solitary in NYC jails. This is a critical moment to push for strong implementation of Local Law 42 to end solitary

confinement. Here's two things you can do:

1) Submit public comments using this template from the #HALTsolitary Campaign and Jails Action Coalition, and email comments to BOC@boc.nyc.gov between now and June 17.

2) Join a rally on June 17, 12 pm rally at Foley Square and then testify at the Board’s of Correction's 1 pm hearing on rules to implement Local Law 42

Building the Justice Peer Community 2.0: Moving Lived Experience to Lived Expertise is a full-day, ABSOLUTELY FREE conference focused on moving lived experiences to lived expertise! This conference will be jam-packed full of collective policy-making, building capacity, learning, healing, professional development, and advocacy - for us, by us!

Join us in Brooklyn, NY on June 12th!

Workshops will focus on building the justice peer movement and strengthening the peer workforce community. We will promote our voices as the subject-matter experts in the room.

June 13: Close Rikers Budget Tour Join us to visit In-District Offices of City Councilmembers on the Budget Negotiating Team, and urge them to fight hard for the budget we need to Close Rikers!

We'll gather at 10AM and wrap up by 4PM each day.

Please RSVP and contact Ryan with questions, racquaotta@urbanjustice.org

RSVP & DETAILS

HOUSING

Interfaith Center of New York

Sign on Here

Faith leaders play a critical role in advocating for a city budget that meets the needs of New Yorkers. As rents skyrocket and homelessness grows, our communities need resources that help them stay in their homes for generations. The city budget is due at the end of the month, but there still isn’t enough funding dedicated to the preservation and construction of affordable housing.

The Interfaith Center and many faith leaders around the city are supporting the New York City Council’s “Homes Now” demand for an additional $2.5 billion of funding toward housing. As a faith leader in your community, please take a moment to sign onto this letter to the Mayor calling for funding for permanently affordable housing by June 14th.

Please share with your networks.

New York City Housing Authority reopened the Section 8 waitlist on June 3, giving New Yorkers across 200,000 households a fresh shot at a coveted, federally-backed rental voucher.

NYCHA’s application are only available for a week: Applications are now open and close Sunday, June 9 at 11:59 p.m. You can apply online here: https://apply.section8.nycha.info

Paper applications will only be sent as a reasonable accommodation, by calling (718) 218-1525. To learn more about this program, visit https://on.nyc.gov/section8-application

Environmental Justice

Center for Climate Justice and Faith

Apply now for the Certificate in Climate Justice and Faith! This is a virtual course built on cohort-based learning among communities of faith. Participants are encouraged to be part of the change they want to see in their communities! Share with other individuals and organizations you want to work with so that you can build local momentum while meeting people from across the globe! - Due: June 17th

https://bit.ly/24_25CCJFApp

PNYC Churches on the Move

First Presbyterian Church in Forest Hills

For the second year, members walked with neighbors from the Reform Temple, in the Queens Pride parade. They are a congregation that believes God loves all God's children.

Fifth Ave Presbyterian Church

Fifth Ave has wonderful outreach programs such as Meals on Heels (MOH), now in its fourth decade and A Place at the Table. Launched in late May 2020, this meal program has become the cornerstone of the Ecumenical Outreach Partnership (EOP). A Place at the Table welcomes and feeds guests struggling with hunger, material needs, and access to vital services. To volunteer with their meal ministries, please reach out to Meals on Heels at moh@fapc.org or register with A Place at the Table here.

Join ministry leaders on Thursdays in June for support and to share ideas, challenges, questions and resources associated with Eradicating Systemic Poverty. Register here:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUtcOCoqTMvEtxGC1teTvQBWCGGIUGuDPhT#/registrationcle Heading

Budget Action - June 11th

Contact the Advocate

Charmaine Massiah

email CMassiah@presbynyc.org or call and text at 347-401-4598. Feel free to send us your upcoming announcements and community and justice activities.

We will share them in our newsletter and social media platforms.

Instagram @ pnycjustice