TESTIMONY
Vladimir on Challenges and Support for LGBTQ+ Immigrants in New York City
4:13:33
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3 min
Vladimir, the Director of Policy and Government Affairs at the LGBT Community Center in New York City, highlights the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ immigrants and advocates for increased support.
- Outlines the interconnectedness of immigration and LGBTQ+ identity, emphasizing the need for focused support.
- Describes issues such as lack of access to services, food and housing insecurity, discrimination, and xenophobia facing LGBTQ+ immigrants.
- Calls for enhanced funding and agency spending for initiatives like Youth and Poverty Initiative, Trans Equity Initiative, and Hate Crimes Prevention Initiative.
- Mentions collaborative efforts with other organizations to address these challenges.
- Urges the city council and mayor to increase support for LGBTQ+ immigrants.
Vladimir
4:13:33
Good afternoon, chair Agnes.
4:13:34
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
4:13:37
My name is Vladimir.
4:13:38
My pronouns are he and him.
4:13:40
And I'm the director of policy and government affairs at the LGBT Community Center in New York City.
4:13:47
New York City's LGBT community formed the LGBT center in 1983 in response to the AIDS epidemic, ensuring a place for LGBT plus people to access information, care, and support that they were not receiving elsewhere.
4:14:01
We are constantly in that moment again in the city.
4:14:06
Now we are the largest LGBT multi service organization on the East Coast, and we see almost 6000 weekly visitors through our doors and host over 400 community group meetings each month.
4:14:18
Our written testimony has more information about our work, but I'm gonna skip to some of the more salient points here.
4:14:26
First, we wanna just highlight that immigration is an LGBTQ plus issue.
4:14:30
Over the last 2 years, the center in close partnership with the New York State LGBT Health And Human Services Network, which is administered by the center, has been working to identify and highlight the needs and concerns facing LGBTQ plus immigrants in New York.
4:14:45
And across the New York City and across our state, and to find short and long term solutions to those issues.
4:14:51
Of course, that work has taken new form and new and more urgent forms over the last couple of months due to the growing humanitarian crises our city faces by new New Yorkers and the support needed to support and the supports needed to keep those families and individuals safe and able to integrate into our communities.
4:15:13
Our communities are facing challenges that include a general lack of access to services due to increased backlogs, food insecurity, housing insecurity, and I'll just note in the housing and security space, many LGBTQ folks are spacing discrimination from others that are housed with them, but also from city staff as they are staying in city shelters, and that is obviously unacceptable for us.
4:15:42
They're our communities are also facing employment and security and discrimination based on immigration status, but also based on their identification as a member of the LGBTQ plus community, transportation issues, navigation issues around health insurance, work authorization, and other public benefits.
4:16:00
Issues accessing IDNYC, which I will point out as a program specifically meant to address the needs of immigrants and LGBTQ plus people.
4:16:09
That intersection is important.
4:16:13
And, of course, alarming rates of xenophobia in the media and across New York City.
4:16:18
Just this year, we began working with a broad coalition of New York City Organizations that exist at the Intersection of Immigration And LGBTQ plus issues.
4:16:27
And service provision to outline a plan for tackling the specific challenges faced by LGBTQ plus newly arrived immigrants.
4:16:34
We are in the early stages of our work, but we'll look to partner with the city council to help our city correct course on this important matter.
4:16:42
And I know my time is up.
4:16:43
But most immediately, we're calling on the city council and the mayor to increase existing funding lines and agency spending, and I will list a few specific specific counsel initiatives that you may look at.
4:16:56
The youth and poverty initiative, the trans equity initiative, and the hate crimes prevention initiative are well placed for increases because we are continuing to serve communities based not we don't discriminate based on folks' immigration status.
4:17:14
So our organization and many organizations here are continuing to serve folks with the current funding we are receiving, but that obviously is not a sustainable way to move forward.
4:17:23
Thank you very much.
