City Limits

“They’ve been closing—or as they say, relocating centers to other centers—and so they are leaving people with no other options and forcing them to do things remotely or online or by phone,” said [Adriana] Mendoza of the Safety Net Project.

Gothamist

"Maria Wallas, 53, said she used the Mount Eden office when she needed help applying for SNAP. She also volunteers for the Safety Net Project. “These centers benefit the people in the community so they can get the assistance that they need,” she said. “Who suffers [when they close]? I suffer. Everybody that lives around here suffers.”

Gothamist

“It is absolutely, positively insane. That is not something that should happen, you knew your numbers were at 28%, you said you would do better, where is the doing better part?” asked Diana Ramos, a volunteer with Safety Net Activists [of the Safety Net Project at UJC] who also received public benefits.

City Limits

“It's more accessible, people don't have to leave their home,” said Charisma White of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center, a benefits recipient who helped push for 2019 legislation requiring quarterly reports on application denials. “But if you're going to use that service, you have to make sure it's working at top notch standards.”

BK Reader

“We need to actually start housing people instead of warehousing them in shelters,” said Calvin Michael, leader with the Safety Net Activists. “As someone who used CityFHEPS to move out of shelter, I know how important these laws are to getting people housed."

City Limits

"Park’s comments frustrated advocates who pushed for the passage of the full Council package. “I know that I cannot pick and choose which laws I adhere to,” said Patricia Glover, a member of the Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Activists. “If I run a red light I’m going to have to pay a fine.”

City Limits

The impending showdown is frustrating for Patricia Glover, a member of the Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Activists, and a CityFHEPs voucher holder. She spent 18 months in shelter before moving into an apartment with her voucher in March 2022. “That could be so long and drawn out that people are going to fall by the wayside,” she said. 

Amsterdam News

"The city has been transferring homeless people and abusing them for years in shelters across the city. Now with the 30 and 60-day rules, the city is continuing that abuse and making it even worse for homeless immigrants,” said Dinick Martinez, leader with the Safety Net Activists, in a statement."

Vice

“It's a perverse kind of insurance, almost like a bail bond,” Marika Dias, a housing attorney with the nonprofit Safety Net Project told Motherboard. “Tenants don't really have leverage, aren’t in a position of power to push back on something like this because they need the housing.”

NY Times

“Ramos, who was assisted by the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center, said she was relieved when her food stamps arrived in late September, the day after The New York Times asked city officials to comment on her case.”