September is almost here - time to keep up the pressure!

Courtesy of Allison Hemming: The Time for Grass-roots support is NOW. Soon everyone will be back from their summer vacations and into full swing with work and starting school. So now is the time to get people's attention -- before they get too busy to care. Given the rise in homelessness in NYC, and in particular our neighborhood, we thought it would be valuable to outline procedures should you identify a Homeless person in need or who you feel threatened by. In the future if you see a person acting in a dangerous way (to themselves or others), please call 911 so the police can respond and evaluate the individual. An ambulance will also be dispatched to the location. For individuals laying in the street or routine homeless issues (eg. sitting in St. Vartan's or the 29th Street playground - Albano's, without a child), please call 311. It is important that you see something you do something. Every time a 911 Call or 311 call (you can log tickets on the 311 app as well) goes into the City, it collects a datapoint -- and allows the city to identify hotspots. This will help the city "see" that our neighborhood is bearing the brunt of the homeless situation due to the 850-bed men's intake center at Bellevue on 30th and Mainchance Shelter on 32nd. The community action Committee Third and 33rd is advocating for change in client mix (families and women vs. men due to proximity to schools) and reducing the amount of beds per location. And we need everyone's support to make a different. If you're interested in getting involved in making changes in the neighborhood, check out the Facebook group, Third and 33rd (and Beyond). =>https://www.facebook.com/groups/1091395757542575/ Apps to Download / Actions to Take include: Photo/Map Homeless App iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/…/nyc-map-the-homele…/id1023540274… Photo/Map App Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details… NYC 311 App iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nyc-311/id324897619?mt=8 NYC 311 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details… Mauro’s Petition & Mayor Contact Form: http://www.3-33.nyc/petitions.html Group Newsletter Sign-Up: http://www.3-33.nyc/newsletter.html Take Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3-33 Finally, as a member of the Third and 33rd group, I can definitely say that real change is happening. It's slow but the City is starting to hear us (as is the local media). The more people we can involve the better -- especially this fall. Feel free to email this to friends who live in the neighborhood, PTA pals, moms that you might know from the park. Thank you!