My name is Goddess Earl and I am 40 yrs old, I have 2 boys,ages 8 and 10, Kai and Keanu and we live in a N.Y.C.D.H.S.family shelter,(Metro Motel)and there are approximately 76 families on the premises and then they have the motel on the other side of the building where they still conduct business.Of all the families here everyone has at least one child between the ages of 0 yrs to 18 yrs. Its a struggle to live here of course because you basically have your own unit with your own bathroom and small fridge and your whole family sleeps in one large (or small) room.They do provide us with 3 meals a day which is not bad because there is no cooking in the facility, but if you want to reheat any food of any kind, there are 2 microwaves on the premises which EVERYONE has to share and only one of them is working. Its also hard because there are no more subsidies(SEC.8,Advantage vouchers, etc...) to help families move out on their own, so basically the only way to move out is if you are employed and save as much as you can, which is hard enough especially if your not working. Im starting this petition basically because the owner of the Metro Motel,Ben Berger and D.H.S.(Dept. of Homeless Services)has now removed ALL of the air conditioning that each of the families had in their units. Now, understanding, in the state of N.Y. as of May 30th, any landlord, agency, tenement, etc.. does not have to provide heat any longer for the year, but to take away the fan and cooling units as well is cruel, animalistic, and just inhumane!!! the only reason that DHS is supposedly doing this is "to make the families uncomfortable so they can move out faster", and "some of the families have become too comfortable" as I was told by my caseworker, is NOT a good reason for removing the cooling systems. Yes, there are people who have been in the facility for 2+ years and have not made much of an effort to move out and on their own, but they cant target the whole community for a few bad apples. I believe, I KNOW that there are better options to deal with those people. But that is not the issue here, the issue is that there are small children with asthma, several people have medical issues and taking away proper ventilation will just cause more medical issues as well as other issues. There are people that live here that are working very hard (including myself) to better ourselves and move out of the shelter system and move on with our lives. If we allow D.H.S. to continue to treat us like animals, they will continue. Although I haven't been here but for 4 months and plan on moving out in another 4 months, I have to think about the future families that come to live here who truly need help and not harassment. Please sign my petition to stop Mr. Ben Berger,owner, and D.H.S. from treating homeless families and children like ANIMALS!!!!                                                         Sincerely,  

                                                                             Goddess A.Earl