PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jackeline Cruz, Social Work Supervisor at UnLocal, on Pre-60 Day Notices and Their Impact on Immigrant Families
4:24:22
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147 sec
Jackeline Cruz, a social work supervisor at UnLocal, testified about the negative impacts of pre-60 day notices on immigrant families in NYC shelters. She highlighted how these notices create stress, disrupt families' lives, and potentially harm children's education and well-being.
- Cruz provided examples of two families affected by these notices, emphasizing the challenges for single mothers and their children
- She criticized the notices for containing misleading information and lacking adequate resources or support for families
- Cruz urged the Adams administration to address the housing crisis for newly arrived immigrants with more humane and sustainable solutions
Jackeline Cruz
4:24:22
you.
4:24:22
Good afternoon.
4:24:24
My name is Jacqueline Cruz, and I'm the social work supervisor at Unlocal, an organization dedicated to immigration, legal representation, and community education.
4:24:32
And I'm here to speak on the different, but related pre 60 day notices that community members have received.
4:24:39
This past August, I worked with 2 recently arrived families who received pre 60 day notices instructing them to prepare to leave their shelters despite not yet having received official eviction notices.
4:24:51
One family led by a single mother with 3 children under 13 years old became overwhelmed knowing that, excuse me, that homelessness would threaten her ability to maintain employment and access mental health services.
4:25:04
The second family, also led by a single mother supporting 2 sons and her sister, learned that displacement can negatively impact her son's ongoing family court proceedings related to pursuit of special immigrant juvenile designation.
4:25:17
The pre 60 day notice contains misleading, contradictory, and fear inducing language.
4:25:23
It suggests prioritizing an exit plan while school is out, but was issued 2 weeks before school openings, leaving people with only 14 days to uproot their families, identify safe and immediate housing, and transfer children to new schools.
4:25:37
The notice also fails to provide housing alternatives or resources and was accompanied by inadequate case management from shelter staff requiring supplementary advocacy from an organization like ours.
4:25:50
Without this kind of community advocacy, displacement displacement may become inevitable with profound repercussions for already housing and secure populations, such as those newly arrived.
4:26:00
Frequent relocations disrupt communication with attorneys, hinder the receipt of legal mail, and sever meaningful connections to critical services and community organizations intended to stabilize, empower, and transition individuals to independent living.
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The impact is even greater on children who face academic disruptions and increased anxiety due to constant school transfers and residential mobility, both of which are known risk factors for the development of adjustment disorders.
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New York City has long committed to welcoming and sheltering all people, including immigrants, and we urge the Adams administration to honor that commitment by addressing the housing crisis for newly arrived immigrants with humane, sustainable, and ethical solutions.
4:26:42
If self sufficiency is the goal guiding the 30, 60 day rule, displacement and destabilization is not the answer.
4:26:48
Thank you.
