Social Media Chain of Support
Take action to show your support for asylum-seeker neighbors as Mayor Adams issues 60-day notices to seek alternative housing!
#EveryoneDeservesShelter
#Stopthe60DayNotices
On July 19th, Mayor Eric Adams announced that, in the coming days, NYC will start to give adult asylum-seekers who are staying in shelters operated by the City "60-day notices" directing them to find other housing accommodations. If they are not able to do so within 60 days, they will lose their current shelter placement–where they have begun to build community ties, and possibly started going to work or receive education and social services–and have to reapply at the arrival center, at which point a new shelter placement may not be available to them. In fact, on the evening of July 19th, many asylum-seekers at the arrival center were given a notice that there were no available beds and they would have to wait–possibly sleeping unsheltered–until accommodations became available in the future.
We believe that shelter and housing are human rights that apply to everyone, whether you've lived in NYC your whole life or just got here. The City must #Stopthe60DayNotices and provide shelter to all who need it. And just as we welcome any New Yorker experiencing homelessness, we welcome asylum-seekers as neighbors at shelter facilities in our own backyards, even as some residents and politicians have tried to keep them out.
Join the Open Hearts Initiative in creating a chain of support on social media by posting your support for welcoming asylum-seekers in your neighborhood. The more people who participate, the stronger a message we’ll all send to the city that New Yorkers welcome new neighbors and want everyone to have a place to stay.
How to Add to the Chain of Support:
Using either a blank piece of paper or the printable template sign that we've created, write a short message of support for welcoming asylum seekers as neighbors (see the sample language below for ideas). Be sure to include the name of your neighborhood (e.g. Upper West Side, Hell's Kitchen, or Astoria) on your sign.
Take a picture of yourself holding up the sign. (Make sure to turn off screen mirroring if applicable so that your sign can be read.)
Post the image on social media, using some of the sample language below and #EveryoneDeservesShelter and #Stopthe60DayNotices.
Sample language: Here are some examples of how you might caption your photo (feel free to adapt and add your own language):
Everyone deserves safe shelter, and I welcome asylum-seekers to my neighborhood. @NYCMayor, making folks leave shelter and re-apply after 60 days is counterproductive and cruel. #EveryoneDeservesShelter #Stopthe60DayNotices
As a resident of [NEIGHBORHOOD], I welcome new neighbors who are seeking asylum. When everyone has their basic needs met, we are all safer. #EveryoneDeservesShelter #Stopthe60DayNotices.
Telling asylum-seekers in the shelter system to find other housing without work authorization or rental assistance in place is harmful and unrealistic. Asylum-seekers are welcome in NYC and in my neighborhood. #EveryoneDeservesShelter #Stopthe60DayNotices
Photo: Example of someone holding up a sign as part of the chain of support.