ARCHIVE:
WEEK 1 – May 8th
Discretionary Funding
Call-In Day
Call your City Council Member on May 8th!Â
Join us to ensure that the City Council provide human services organizations clear guidance on discretionary funding for FY21 and to preserve funding for critical services next year.Â
We’re asking the Council to allow providers to convert all discretionary funding to general operating support so that providers have more resources at their disposal to pivot to critical needs and ensure discretionary contracts are paid out quickly and in full.Â
- STEP 1: Find your Council Member and their contact information by clicking here.
- STEP 2: Use our call-in day script (below) to share your concerns:
My name is [NAME], and I work for [NAME of ORGANIZATION]. We provide critical services in your district and are very concerned about the announcement made on April 21, 2020, that the City may not reimburse expenses incurred after March 22 on discretionary contracts deemed non-essential.With discretionary dollars, we provide [DESCRIBE SERVICE] and we need clear guidance on how contracts will be classified as essential as the fiscal year is ending soon. We also understand the budget constraints the City is facing now and into next year, but discretionary funding is critical to many communities, particularly those most impacted by COVID-19. We ask that the Council works with us and the rest of the sector to preserve critical discretionary funding next year.City-contracted human service providers are the cornerstone of New York’s economic and social security, and we must be close partners in these times. If we don’t work together, providers who were already on the brink of insolvency before this public health crisis will lose confidence in the City and will be forced to fail during a time when their constituents will face greater need.We are ready to work in partnership with [COUNCIL MEMBER] to offer clearer instruction and preserve vital human services programs.
WEEK 2 – May 15th
Workforce: Incentive Pay, PPE, and COLA
Social Media Action
Our workers are on the frontlines fighting COVID-19 and keeping communities safe, please join us in celebrating the workforce by sharing photos and videos of workers delivering essential services this Friday as we call upon government to provide incentive pay, PPE, and cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for human services workers. Â
CLICK HERE to download our sample tweets and graphics.
Start collecting photos and videos of now, showing workers out in the community, delivering food, staffing shelters, as well as working remotely to tutor, provide counseling, and checking in our clients. Then on Friday, May 15th, tweet the stories and videos using #Fight4TheFrontlines, and you can also join us on Facebook and Instagram. Â
Some tips! Here are the kinds of videos and images that will be perfect for this action:
- Videos of workers talking about how important their work isÂ
- Photos of staff in makeshift PPEÂ
- Get clients involved in videos saying how important the services you provide are and pictures of them receiving services (with permission of course). Â
- Pictures of your workers and descriptions of how the work you do keeps people out of the hospital system and safe in their homes. Â
Don’t forget to tag our government partners at the City and State and ask that they:Â
- Commit to paying frontline human services workers incentive pay retroactively Â
- Include frontline nonprofit staff in the supply chain for critical safety equipment and PPE so they can keep themselves and their clients safe. Â
- Commit to a multi-year 3% cost of living adjustment (COLA) on the personnel services line of all human services contracts to chip away at the poverty wages provided on contracts.
WEEK 3 – May 22nd
Budget Advocacy
On Friday, May 22nd, we’ll be focusing on calling for more budgetary support for human services organizations on social media. Join us for A Day Without Human Services!
To participate:
-  Get your own personalized Tweets! – fill out this survey by COB TOMORROW, 5/20. HSC staff will use the data to craft personalized tweets for your organization to send out on Friday to help illustrate the impact of a day without human services for the community. If you fill out the survey by the deadline, you will have personalized tweets sent to you in time for Friday’s action.
- On Friday, 5/22, change your Twitter profile photo to the Fight for the Frontline logo and your Twitter banner picture to a Fight for the Frontlines banner – and ask your staff, colleagues, friends, and family to join us as well. Then tweet out your personalized tweets throughout the day using our hashtag #Fight4TheFrontlines.
Together, we can demonstrate the tangible value of our services to government officials in order to secure future funding for the supports we offer to community members.
WEEK 4 – May 29th
Federal Advocacy
Send a letter to your Senator on May 29th! Â
The House of Representatives passed a $3 trillion stimulus bill, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act), which included reforms to support nonprofit organizations. Join us to ensure that the next COVID-19 federal legislation includes nonprofit human services organizations as the sector will be needed more than ever in the coming weeks as more people are in need of critical services. We are asking that the next federal stimulus package: Â
- Establish discrete funding for nonprofit organizations.Â
- Expand nonprofit access to emergency grants and loan programs.  Â
- Provide incentive pay for essential human services workers.Â
- Increase aid to states and localities.Â
- Expand charitable giving incentives.Â
STEP 1: Find your Senator and their contact information by clicking here.Â
STEP 2: Use our sample letter to share your concerns.Â
WEEK 5 – June 5th
Stand in Solidarity
In light of the recent protests across our country in response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the untold numbers of people who are the victims of systemic racial violence, HSC has been reflecting on how to most effectively use the Fight for the Frontlines platform to uplift and support the work of Black activists and organizers. We also want to provide our member organizations with resources and tools to reach out to colleagues and staff members during this time.
We are collecting resources (send those you find helpful to [email protected]) and will be sharing our collection-in-progress on Friday. This will be a “living list,” so please continue to send suggestions of resources and feedback. We’ll also be tweeting out resources throughout the day this Friday.
We also ask you to help us share our open letter to Mayor de Blasio, condemning the City’s response to peaceful protestors. Our demands are for him to:
- Remove the oppressive and ill-planned curfew.
- Fully clear the records of all New Yorkers who are arrested for exercising their First Amendment rights or violating the poorly executed curfew.
- Immediately stop the use of tear gas which is a lethal weapon during COVID-19 and promotes the spread of the virus.
Use the following sample tweets to share our open letter on Twitter. You can use our Instagram graphic and Twitter graphic to share as well:
- .@NYCMayor + @NYGovCuomo, the human services sector is disturbed by NY’s response to BLM protests & the anti-Black policies which led to them. We’re calling on you to begin correcting this mishandling w/ the demands outlined: https://tinyurl.com/y9j3ysoc #Fight4TheFrontlines
- .@NYCMayor + @NYGovCuomo, begin to remedy NY’s horrific response 2 peaceful protesters by removing the curfew, clearing records of arrested protestors, & ending the use of tear gas (a lethal weapon during #COVID19). Full demands: https://tinyurl.com/y9j3ysoc #Fight4TheFrontlines
WEEK 6 – June 12th
Call-In Day
Our letter outlines a number of recommendations from across the sector about how to redirect funds from the NYPD budget into existing programs. These direct recommendations try to merge the need for immediate investment in critical programs within communities hit hardest by COVID-19, programs that reduce police interactions, and investments that explicitly support BIPOC New Yorkers.
On June 12th for Fight for the Frontlines Friday we invite you to participate by calling your City Council Member to point them to this letter and ask them to consider these recommendations.
You can use our call script to make phone calls and find your Council Member’s contact information here. Feel free to adapt the script and add details from your agency’s perspective.
Our list of recommendations is not comprehensive and does not account for all of the proposed redirected funds. We appreciate that our role in this conversation is limited. The City must also commit to working with antiracist activists and communities of color to combat the crisis of anti-Blackness and structural racism within our City through the FY21 budget and beyond.
WEEK 7 – June 19th
Three Ways to Strengthen the Sector
Contact your State and City Reps!
This week we’re keeping up our momentum by hosting a double call-in day tomorrow to both City Council Members and State electeds.
Here’s three ways to participate today:
CITY CALLS – INVEST IN HUMAN SERVICES, NOT OVER-POLICING:
Maintain our momentum and keep calling Council Members, Mayor de Blasio, and the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget about investing in human services in the FY21 budget!
Last week we made calls to City Council Members in support of the Communities United for Police Reform’s campaign calling for a reduction of the NYPD’s operating budget by at least $1 billion in FY21 and for that funding to be redistributed to substantial investments in critical youth and social services programs. HSC also sent aÂ
letter outlining a number of recommendations from across the sector about how to redirect funds from the NYPD budget into existing programs.
We are entering the final stretch of budget negotiations as an agreement much be reached between the Mayor and City Council by June 30th. It is time to double down and make sure the voice of our sector is heard!
Use our
sample call script to make calls and find your Council Member’s contact infoÂ
here. You can also reach OMB atÂ
(212) 788-5800Â and Mayor de Blasio’s office at
 (212) 639-9675.
STATE CALLS – DELAYED CONTRACTS:
Many providers across the State are reporting delays in contract registration and payments. Regardless of whether you have delayed payments, join us in stressing the importance of paying providers quickly, registering contracts, and maintaining funding levels for human services. Now more than ever our sector needs state contracts to be paid fully and on time!
PREPARE TESTIMONY FOR NEXT WEEK:
On Tuesday, June 23rd at 12:00 PM the Committee on Contracts, jointly with the Committee on Aging and the Committee on Youth Services, is holding anÂ
oversight hearingon Youth and Senior Services Contracting during the pandemic.
If you would like to testify during the virtual hearing via Zoom or over the phone, you must register by Monday, June 22nd at 12:00 PM. Written testimony can be submitted up to 72 hours after the hearing via the
same webpage.
Thank you for your continued advocacy!
WEEK 8 – June 26th
City Budget & Federal Advocacy
Welcome to the **final week** of Fight for the Frontlines Friday! Thank you to everyone who has joined us in fighting for the human services sector on the frontlines of COVID-19 these past weeks.
There are two ways to take action this #Fight4TheFrontlines Friday!
1.) City Budget Advocacy Call-In
Until the City budget is finalized, it is vital to keep maintaining pressure by making calls to the City Council about the need to cut at least $1 billion from the NYPD FY21 expense budget and redirect the related savings into social services. The human services sector’s voice is vital for stressing the second half of this demand by showing how cuts for social services in FY20 and proposed cuts in FY21 impact our communities.
Here’s how to participate:
Step 1: Find your City Council Member’s contact information here.
Step 2: Then use our City budget call script to make calls during the day to share your concerns.
2.) Federal Advocacy Call-In
The House of Representatives passed a $3 trillion stimulus bill, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act), which included reforms to support nonprofit organizations. Urge Congress to pass the HEROES Act and ensure that the next COVID-19 federal legislation includes nonprofit human services organizations as the sector plays a crucial role during the pandemic and its aftermath and will be needed more than ever in the coming weeks as more people are in need of critical services.
Here’s how to participate:
Step 1: Find your Senator and their contact information by clicking here.
Step 2: Use our Federal call-in day script (CLICK HERE) to share your concerns.
