Freedom Agenda

Prayers and condolences to the family of Charizma Jones, 23 years young, who died in DOC custody this week. This is the 32nd death in DOC custody under this mayoral administration. Youth incarceration has increased under this administration and instead of investments in programs and services in historically under resourced communities this mayoral administration proposed cuts, hyper-policing, and a return to mass incarceration in NYC.

"Locking people up who are mentally ill, struggling with addiction or unhoused on Rikers Island for years without a trial is not making anyone safer. On the contrary, it’s harmful, counterproductive and expensive." - Rachel Lissy & Rabbi Hilly Haber

https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/07/12/healing-minds-and-bodies-from-rikers/

NYC City Council passed the 2025 budget, allocating $6.4M to fund 500 Justice Involved Supportive Housing (JISH) units for individuals leaving Rikers.

This fulfills a 2019 commitment from city officials and was championed by CSH alongside City Council Speaker NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Council Member Sandy Nurse, Councilwoman Carlina Rivera 利華娜, Freedom Agenda, Vera Institute of Justice, The Fortune Society, and other partners.

CSH Sr. Program Manager, Emma Cathell, spoke about JISH at a Close Rikers Rally earlier this year. (Photo credit: Tashan Rivers, WCJA.)

Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q02Fj_DW0

NYC was promised a new chapter for social justice and climate justice with and commitments, but Eric Adams has stalled that agenda. Under Local Law 16 of the Renewable Rikers Act, the City must transfer all vacant land and structures on Rikers Island from the Department of Correction to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services every six months. The Adams administration has not made a single transfer - missing FIVE deadlines, despite studies released this spring that show the clear Citywide benefits of Renewable Rikers.

Tell Mayor Adams he must take concrete steps to deliver the just and sustainable future New Yorkers deserve.

bit.ly/closerikers-actnow

Have you or your family member experienced incarceration in NYC? Join our monthly member meeting on Tuesday, July 9th at 7pm virtually to get updates on our advocacy and organizing efforts to build directly impacted power for decarceration and system transformation.

STATEMENT: Campaign to praises 's work to win investments in proven solutions for health and safety, in spite of Mayor Adams

The adopted budget includes $6.4M more for the Justice Involved Supportive Housing program - a commitment made in the 2019 agreement to Close Rikers.

We'll continue organizing for a City that invests in care over criminalization, where the billions wasted on DOC abuse and corruption are reinvested in the communities that mass incarceration has stolen so much from.

ACT NOW: Tell Mayor Adams we need a budget! Use the QR code here or link in bio.

For same cost of torturing one person at Rikers, we could give 13 people the supportive housing they need to thrive. As the Mayor & City Council finalize a budget for the coming fiscal year, this is a reminder that Rikers Island is not only the cruelest way of treating our most vulnerable friends and neighbors, it's also the most expensive.

SAVE THE DATE: Tap in on IG Live Tuesday, June 25th at 5PM EST when Darren Mack (he/him), Co-Director at Freedom Agenda interviews Nadia Swanson (they/them), Director of Advocacy & Technical Assistance, and Galloway (they/them), Advocacy Manager, at the Ali Forney Center for a discussion on LGBTQ+ Unhoused Youth.

Tap in on Monday, June 24th at 5:30pm to hear from Free to Be Youth work to interrupt the cycles of poverty and criminalization that prevent homelessness and street-involved young people from living fulfilling lives free from discrimination, abuse, and oppression.







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Thank you to everyone who came out to Freedom Agenda’s 3rd annual Juneteenth BBQ! 🍔🌭

See you again next year at a park near you!

It was a wonderful time at Freedom Agenda’s 3rd annual Juneteenth BBQ!

Yes, Angel, Freedom Agenda member, was playing the piano and singing too. 😊

Freedom Agenda 3rd annual Juneteenth BBQ!

Freedom Agenda 3rd annual Juneteenth BBQ! Beautiful park, good food, and amazing people.

Freedom Agenda 3rd annual Juneteenth BBQ!!

Thank you to everyone who came out to Freedom Agenda’s 3rd annual Juneteenth BBQ! 🍔🌭😋

GOOD FOOD, GOOD MOOD! 😝

NEW DATE AND TIME!!! Tap in on Thursday, June 27th at 5PM EST for a discussion with members of the Trans Prisoners’ Rights Coalition of New York to learn about their work on the local city and state level, and how to support or get involved.

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Tap in on Thursday, June 20th at 6PM EST on Instagram Live for a interview with organizers from the Trans Prisoners’ Rights Coalition to learn about the local city and state efforts to liberate and protect TGNCNBI incarcerated people in New York.

The Trans Prisoners’ Rights Coalition, formerly known as the G.I.R.D.S. Coalition was established in 2019, and is made up of several organizations in New York State working toward the liberation, safety and dignity of TGNCNBI incarcerated people.


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Help stop the “silent rollback” of bail reform by helping ensure judges follow the law and families are no longer mistreated. Become a volunteer with PSB Family Advocates. Visit the link in bio for more information on how you can help.

“When the state takes away a person’s liberty, it bears a serious obligation to provide them proper care, and the built environment is a big part of that. Cutting our jail population significantly and overhauling the material conditions that people live in will be a massive victory.” By Ashley Abadia-Santiago Conrad.

Link in bio to read Op-Ed
https://citylimits.org/author/ashley-abadia-santiago-conrad/

🚨 Action Alert! 🚨 Join us to demand !

The NYPD's bloated budget has been on full display with their daily harassment of our communities, hyper-militarized policing of protests, violent treatment of street vendors, aggressive fearmongering, and more. The NYPD’s brutality & abuse is shameful, as is their $12B budget—while our communities, schools, housing, and health services remain severely underfunded.

We're joining to demand ! We’re calling for the NYC Council to stop funding NYPD’s misinformation and propaganda machine and cut at least 50% from the NYPD’s press budget; remove NYPD from mental health response and fund non-police mental health services and response teams; cut vacancies of school cops and freeze hiring; , and block the proposed $225 NY Cop City training facility and instead invest in our communities! Click here now to send an email to your own council member ensuring they hear this important message.  bit.ly/FY25BudgetJustice

This Freedom Fighter Friday, we celebrate Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, trailblazers in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. As co-founders of the Daughters of Bilitis in 1955, they created the first social and political organization for le****ns in the U.S. and published “The Ladder,” the first nationally distributed le***an magazine. Their relentless advocacy spanned LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and social justice, fighting against discriminatory laws and promoting health care, domestic violence awareness, and support for aging LGBTQ+ individuals. In 2008, their enduring partnership culminated in their historic marriage, making them the first same-sex couple to legally marry in California. Today, we honor Lyon and Martin’s pioneering spirit and lasting impact on the fight for equality.

***an

The number of people at Rikers with serious mental illness has increased by more than 40% since Mayor Adams took office in January 2022. New York City Council developed a Mental Health Roadmap and passed some of the legislation it includes, but the Mayor has largely ignored their budget recommendations. Instead of continuing to feed the bloated Department of Correction, we desperately need greater investment in community-based mental health treatment to achieve true safety. Read the City Council’s Mental Health Roadmap here: https://council.nyc.gov/mental-health-road-map/

Last Friday we were proud to rally with partners from the Campaign to Close Rikers on the steps of City Hall, demanding a budget that will ! Help us continue to tell Mayor Adams we need him to Close Rikers here: https://bit.ly/closerikersnow



📷 Tashan Rivers

NEW OP-ED by our Co-Director Darren Mack and Council Member Sandy Nurse, Chair of the Council Committee on Criminal Justice: "If we really want safer and stronger communities, let’s use our precious resources to fund the things that work."

Read the rest here: https://www.amny.com/opinion/new-york-city-must-move-forward-on-closing-rikers/

New York City runs the most richly funded and richly staffed jail system in the country while consistently delivering the worst results. Unbelievably, Mayor Adams has plans to maintain DOC budget bloat while cutting funding to a wide range of social services that are proven to reduce incarceration and keep our communities safe. We can reverse this and take real steps to . Here’s one step the City can take in this year’s budget.

JOIN US on May 17 on the steps of City Hall at 9am to Rally for a Budget, and use the QR code or link our bio to access our quick tool to tell the Mayor and City Council that NYC needs a budget that closes Rikers and funds true solutions for community health and safety!

Mayor Adams’s budget is a recipe for keeping Rikers open, cutting funding for alternatives to incarceration, housing, healthcare, education, employment, and youth services. JOIN US on May 17 in front of City Hall at 9am to Rally for a Budget. bit.ly/may17closerikers

New York City runs the most richly funded and richly staffed jail system in the country while consistently delivering the worst results. Unbelievably, Mayor Adams has plans to maintain DOC budget bloat while cutting funding to a wide range of social services that are proven to reduce incarceration and keep our communities safe. We can reverse this and take real steps to . Here’s one step the City can take in this year’s budget.

JOIN US on May 17 on the steps of City Hall at 9am to Rally for a Budget, and use the QR code or link our bio to access our quick tool to tell the Mayor and City Council that NYC needs a budget that closes Rikers and funds true solutions for community health and safety!