Dear friends and supporters,

Occupy Wall Street has highlighted the long term issues of economic injustice that many communities have been affected by, and organizing to change, for many years. The struggles of homeless folks are the result of the fall-out of our economic system: homeless people are part of the 99%.

Check out this video of PTH Board Member Ryan Gibbs addressing the crowd at the December 6th "Occupy Our Homes" Day of Action!
 

This year folks all over NYC and the entire country are joining the fight to change the systems that cause extreme poverty, homelessness, unemployment, and cuts to vital services like schools.

But this fight is far from over – and we need your help to continue! [Click here for info on how to donate!]

As a Solidarity member, we ask you to donate a minimum $113.00. Every dollar of your donation represents 1,000 adults and children who went through the NYC Shelter system last year - a record total of 113,000!

To illustrate how economic injustice creates homelessness, Picture the Homeless’ conducted an historic, first ever city-wide count of vacant properties in NYC. We, along with over 300 volunteers and ally organizations, documented thousands of boarded-up, vacant buildings and lots in each borough. Our study revealed that there is enough potential vacant space in vacant buildings and lots to house nearly 200,000 New Yorkers! Our full report will be released on January 26th, and we'd love to see you at the release event. [Click here for full event details!]

We will continue our research into creative land use models, developing recommendations and strategies to convert some of these vacant properties into housing that will be affordable for the poorest New Yorkers. [Click here for some of our popular education materials about Community Land Trusts!]

Our Civil Rights Campaign is also excited to be members of an emerging city wide campaign to end biased based policing, and to build upon the Know Your Rights work that Picture the Homeless and many grass roots groups have been doing for years.

 [Click here for our breakdown of how "disorderly conduct" is unconstitutional, and how the cops use it to bludgeon the homeless!]

To strengthen the voice of our members, our Organizing Academy trains members to how to effective leaders and organizers – to develop recommendations and strategies that will promote change, effectively present their positions, deal with the media and understand the roots of oppression and how the systems operate. [Click here for the Homeless Organizing Academy Schedule]

We have had a monumental year and we invite you to join us in strengthening our voice.

Your donation will support our members as they remain on the front lines to change the policies, principals and systemic failures that cause and perpetuate homelessness.

Please make your tax deductible donation TODAY! Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Lynn Lewis
Executive Director

Ryan Gibbs
PTH Board Co-Chair

 

The PTH Satellite Office at Zuccotti Park - prior to its destruction. 

"Dissent is Disorderly" - short film by PTH about how the cops used the unconstitutional enforcement of the "disorderly conduct" statute against Occupy Wall Street - like they've been doing to homeless people for decades. 

PTH Member Alease Lowe speaks at a press conference announcing the start of our vacant property count. 

Video shot by homeless protesters at Occupy Wall Street. 

Just a few of the hundreds of people who volunteered to help us count vacant property this summer...

A banner year for Picture the Homeless - our banner deployed in the Occupation of the Albany Capitol...

And in the main concourse of Grand Central Terminal!

Homeless civil rights warriors rallied in Penn Station against the NYPD's policy waking homeless people up throughout the night to ensure they don't get any sleep, recognized in almost all international treaties as a form of torture. 

We were honored to be able to support our friends at the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign in moving a homeless family into a foreclosed home, as part of the Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights!

PTH Leader Genghis Khalid Muhammad leads a teach-in at Bloombergville, widely recognized as the immediate forerunner of Occupy Wall Street (see this New Yorker article for the full genealogy)

THIS IS HOW WE KEEP SOMEBODY IN THEIR HOME!! Video of the amazing Organizing 4 Occupation campaign to keep Ms. Mary Ward in her home after she was the victim of a predatory lending scheme.

"We’re here today to make sure she stays in that house because that house is hers," said Kendall Jackson, a member with the community activist group Picture The Homeless, who attended the protest. "It doesn’t belong to the bank, it doesn’t belong to the speculators that bought it. It’s Ms. Ward’s house.”