FREE FRANKLIN, demands.

 

THE PEOPLE REJECT THE BROKEN AGREEMENTS.

this set of demands was co-written by myself and several sheltered women who are long-time tenants of DHS’ broken shelter system. confinement culture has robbed us of humane treatment within the internet-blocked walls of NYC’s private shelters. this system is crooked and the only way to effectively address the housing crisis in NYC and across the u.s. is to abandon the “staircase approach” to addressing homelessness and to implement HOUSING FIRST policy. these are our demands, not only for Franklin Women’s Shelter in the Bronx, but for all of NYC-DHS’ shelters.

• CONNECT FRANKLIN !
  
  • turn on the internet!
  • it’s ableist and classist to not have WiFi inside the facility! there are tenants who cannot walk to other locations!

 

• NO KKKOPS IN FRANKLIN OR ANY OF DHS’ SHELTERS!!
  
  • WE NEED SOCIAL WORKERS IN FRANKLIN, AND CASE MANAGERS! cops out of Franklin Women’s Shelter NOW!

 

• NO MORE “MAN ON”! MAN, OFF !! 
  
  • hire trained, licensed women technical and trade professionals to do maintenance and technician jobs; this is a women’s shelter and those gainful jobs should go to women and femmes who already experience a wage and opportunity gap. 
  • men who do stay on should be managed by women 
  • all staff should be required to take bi-annual sexual harassment training
  • the male voices late at night are extremely triggering for trauma-survivors, especially when the voices heard are raised, have any hostility, or are intentionally bullying in tone.
  • no more loud radios using bullying tones over radio walkie-talkies
  • men being in the women’s shelter at all is deeply triggering and creates opportunity for irreparable harm

 

• PROTECT DISABLED AND UNHOUSED NEW YORKERS !
  
  • staff and residents to observe Covid containment protocols
  • regular, free, rapid Covid tests
  • better treatment for shelter tenants who test positive 
  • no retaliatory room transfers!
  • accessible, cushioned, bench-style seating around premises
  • more than one chair in the rec room

 

• ACCOUNTABILITY FOR FRANKLIN !!
  
  • create a safe, anonymous incident reporting and accountability mechanism of the staff that allows the people to share feedback on harmful, predatory, or abusive staff behavior
  • direct arriving shelter tenants to legal aid resources
  • inform shelter tenants of their rights and means to pursue accountability

 

• PRIVACY AND DIGNITY FOR FRANKLIN !!
  
  • being forced to change in front of bare open windows and open doors needs to stop! the humiliation of not being entitled to privacy is intentional! 
  • curtains and privacy screens for the windows! 
  • privacy curtains by the doors and the right to close the door whenever we like!
  • cyber-security and computer literacy training classes for the people!
  • intercom system to page shelter tenants for transfers and meetings with case managers
  • refer to us by our names, not by numbers!
  • conflict resolution and deescalation training for Franklin staff and for the people!
  • language translation services, bi- and multi-lingual staff, language barrier training for existing staff members to avoid non-English speaking tenants being denied care & services or exposed to xenophobic and racist bullying, abuse, and discrimination.
  • dignified and confidential mental health services for the people!
  • let us turn our own lights on and off!
  • end the abusive, disruptive, and violent “bed-check” room search practice 
  • we need TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE; many of us are DV survivors, so extreme care and consideration of the emotional trauma a lot of shelter tenants are carrying with them must be at the helm of all interactions between staff and shelter tenants
    comfortable beds that aren’t held up by slabs of wood!
  • allow the shelter tenants to eat outside and provide seating for the elderly and disabled!
  • keep the bathrooms stocked with toilet paper and soap!
  • no arbitrary privilege revocations without justification and the opportunity to appeal to a neutral third-party!
  • end the ableist, racist DHS 9 am - 4 pm “leave-out” policy!
  • 32” TVs for the rooms, 1 - 3 for each room, depending on the layout of the room
  • microwaves and fridges/coolers in each room; even if you need to nail them shits down, PUT ‘EM IN THERE
  • Computer Room for the shelter tenants to use computers and 
  • Cafeteria should be open for tenants to sit in all day
  • guaranteed linens (towels, sheets, AND BLANKETS)
  • FEMININE HYGIENE CARE KITS GIVEN AT INTAKE AND REPLENISHED AS NEEDED

 

• EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES AT FRANKLIN !
  
  • create a peoples’ life-skills academy with lessons taught by community leaders, teaching artists, and community members who are gainfully compensated for their contributions by the state, incentivizing high quality of services and returning community contributors investing in the collective consciousness and educational advancement of the people and the community Franklin serves.
    
    • EXAMPLES OF CLASSES: TOURNIQUET TRAINING, STOP THE BLEED TRAINING, CPR AND AED TRAINING, FIRST AID TRAINING, MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING, MINDFULNESS CLASSES, PILATES CLASSES, YOGA CLASSES, AFRICAN DANCE CLASSES, CONTEMPORARY//INTERPRETIVE DANCE CLASSES, RECORDING ARTS//AUDIO ENGINEERING CLASSES

 

• HIRE QUALIFIED STAFF FOR THE PEOPLE !
  
  • hire trained and qualified social workers, care-workers, YES staff, counselors, as well as trauma-informed, MHFA // (Mental Health First Aid)-trained staff in place of unskillful and uninvolved “security” to bounce the doors

 

• FOOD IS A HUMAN RIGHT !
  
  • guaranteed three meals a day provided, easily accessible at any point in the peoples’ day
  • make sure there’s enough food for all shelter tenants!
  • free community fridges outside of Franklin!

 

• KEEP YOUR END OF THE BARGAIN !
  
  • care kits provided and guaranteed upon arrival and replenished throughout the peoples’ stay.
  • FEMININE HYGIENE CARE KITS GIVEN AT INTAKE AND REPLENISHED AS NEEDED!