We won! Historic settlement has secured crucial reforms to the NYC shelter system for disabled and trans NYers 

A trans woman’s legal battle against the New York City Department of Homeless Services in our case Lopez v. NYC Department of Homeless Services has ended with major reforms to how transgender people experiencing homelessness will be treated when they seek shelter. Under the terms of a groundbreaking settlement, New York City has agreed to create dedicated shelter units for trans and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people in four boroughs by the end of 2022, among other provisions. 

“Everyone deserves safe, dignified housing options,” said Mariah Lopez, Executive Director of Strategic Trans Alliance for Radical Reform (STARR), the nation’s oldest trans civil rights organization, who brought the case in 2017. “For TGNC individuals and those living with disabilities, navigating the homeless shelter system can be a matter of life or death. Being homeless kills, and it deprives individuals of the opportunity to improve their lives. With this settlement, I hope the City will take one more step toward creating a city – and homeless shelter system – that can adequately serve and welcome those who find themselves truly in need of support and compassion.”

Learn more about the case Lopez v. NYC Department of Homeless Services and read our press release on our website.

You’re invited! The Next 20 Years: Building Toward a Demilitarized and Decolonized Future 

The Immigrant Defense Project, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Haymarket Books are proud to present “The Next 20 Years: Building toward a demilitarized and decolonized future of safety for all,” the final event of a four-part series marking the 20th anniversary of 9/11. The event commemorating International Human Rights Day brings together organizers and advocates who are building toward a world we have not yet seen and helping to pave our collective path forward. From the abolition of borders, to the complete defunding of the military-industrial complex within a future of economic, racial, gender, and climate justice, we will discuss both the necessity of imagination, as well as the strategies, tactics, and principles we need to win the world we deserve. Moderator Mizue Aizeki, Deputy Director of the Immigrant Defense Project, will join panelists Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC) Executive Director Lara Kiswani, author Arun Kundnani, and Viet organizer, lawyer, and facilitator Timmy Châu.

Register now through on the Eventbrite event page to receive a link to the video conference on the day of the event.

_{^{This event will be recorded, and ASL and live captioning will be provided.}}

We mourn the loss of Phil Saviano, tireless advocate for survivors of clergy sexual violence: “My gift to the world was not being afraid to speak out” 

The entire Center for Constitutional Rights family is deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and partner Phil Saviano, survivor of Catholic clergy sexual violence and founder of the New England chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). Phil’s tireless efforts to expose the scale and scope of clergy sexual violence and the cover-up by church officials that enabled it were dramatized in the film Spotlight and were integral to breaking down the myth that incidents of sexual violence were isolated and unknown to church officals. With other survivors from around the country, Phil helped build a community who supported one another while seeking to hold the powerful institution and its leadership accountable for the vast harms they caused. The Center for Constitutional Rights has been deeply honored to support Phil and other survivors in bringing the case against then-Pope Benedict and other senior Vatican officials for crimes against humanity to the International Criminal Court in 2011, and together, we continued to support efforts for accountability and outreach to survivors around the globe. 

Phil’s courage, tenacity, generosity, and quiet but fierce presence made the world a safer and more loving place. Rest in peace, rest in power, Phil.

Phil Saviano’s funeral service was recorded and can be watched on YouTube.

_{^{Photo: Phil Saviano, center, stands with other survivors of sexual assault by clergy in front of the International Criminal Court with boxes of evidence the Center for Constitutional Rights was honored to help them deliver to the prosecutor. L to R: Emmanuel Henckens of Belgium, Rita Milla of California, Megan Peterson of Minnesota, and Wilfried Fesselman of Germany.}}

Ahmaud Arbery Verdict: It is not so much that these men take the law into their own hands; it is that the law, designed as it is, already rests in their hands 

The conviction of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers came after we had put the last issue of this newsletter to bed – we hope the verdict has brought some solace to his family. Nonetheless, the deep-seated forces that led to his murder persist. A single guilty verdict in a system that protects white supremacy cannot alter the systemic racism that empowers both vigilantes and police officers to kill Black people, who, despite this verdict, are no safer today than they were yesterday. 

Continue reading on our website.