Hype Bae
“Personal care brand Goodparts founder Dave Shanfield is harnessing the power of NFTs to support sex workers. On February 2 and February 8, you can purchase the “lubed up” NFTs on NFTreats and proceeds will be donated directly to the marginalized community...A majority of funds will be donated directly to the Urban Justice Center’s Sex Worker Project which also seeks to destigmatize and decriminalize sex work.”Bronx Times
“I have been a street vendor for 16 years. In these 16 years, I have been arrested and given tickets for selling incense,” said Sofiani Hassimi, a Harlem street vendor originally from Niger and member of the Street Vendor Project. “Not having a license causes me a lot of mental stress, the government does not allow me to work with dignity. I want to make money to take care of my family, like every vendor. I have three daughters that I love and I am proud to work for them every day.”La Prensa Latina
“Speaking at the last demonstration, called by the Street Vendor Project non-governmental organization, was state Sen. Jessica Ramos, the sponsor of a new bill to facilitate the awarding of licenses to street vendors in New York boroughs with more than one million residents."Open City
“The city has made it virtually impossible to get into a family shelter,” said Craig Hughes, a senior social worker at the Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Project.Fox News
"There's nothing inherent about sex work that makes it more prone to violence other than the fact that because of shame and stigma against sex work, we as sex workers are – for people who want to cause violence – we're expendable people. We're easy targets for violence because people think we're less than moralistic," [RJ Thompson, Director, UJC's Sex Workers Project]StreetsBlog
“Not only are more units urgently needed, but the Supportive Housing Network of New York recently revealed that an estimated 10 percent of the stock is vacant, according to Craig Hughes, a senior social worker with the Safety Net Project of Urban Justice Center. Those vacancies may be due to what’s called “creaming” — when providers and landlords reject someone on the grounds that the person will be too much of a burden.”Queens Daily Eagle
"Freedom Agenda Co-Director Darren Mack, who was formerly incarcerated in Rikers, said the only true way to solve the Rikers crisis is to completely and permanently close the facilities."NY Times
But Craig Hughes, a supervising social worker at the Urban Justice Center, said that outreach teams would be hampered by a lack of stable and permanent housing for the homeless population...“It’s to a good degree smoke and mirrors,” Mr. Hughes said. “Provide outreach instead of housing, but frame it as something more, and then flood the trains with cops.”BronxNet
"Host Daren Jaime sits down with the Co-Director of Freedom Agenda, Darren Mack discussing an update on Rikers Island, the work the organization is doing to advocate and defend the human rights of incarcerated people."Washington Post
In short, street vendor-led activism — notably that by the Street Vendor Project — and creativity are beginning to pay off.© 2024 Urban Justice Center | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
