Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 27 VTMBH Article: Article Order 4 VTMBH Article: Title Legal immigrants sue for rights to food stamps VTMBH Article: Author L. Fogel VTMBH Article: Publication Russian Forward VTMBH Article: Original Language Russian VTMBH Article: Translator Liz Vladeck VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb A coalition of social advocates is suing New York to open the state food stamp program to all poor, documented immigrants. Two of the plaintiffs---73-year-old Brooklyn residents Yankel and Vera Teitelman, are immigrants from Ukraine and Holocaust survivors. The Teitelmans receive welfare, but live on food donated by charitable organizations, as do most of the plaintiffs named. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body At the end of June, a coalition of social advocates filed a lawsuit demanding New York State authorities guarantee all poor documented immigrants receive food stamps. The plaintiffs accuse the New York food stamps program (FAP) of unconstitutional discrimination against needy legal non-citizens of the United States. A state law denies food stamps to several categories of immigrants who arrived in the United States after August 1996. For example, it excludes from the numbers of food stamps recipients those who left U.S. territory for more than 90 days, who moved from one county to another after 1996, or who, after five years of residence in the United States, havent registered to become U.S. citizens. As a result, more than 12,000 of the neediest legal New York State residents (including children, senior citizens, invalids and victims of domestic violence) rely on charities for food today. Our clients are a glaring example of illegal actions by state authorities, who are refusing people who live below the poverty line their elementary rights, said Constance K. Carden, director of the Department of Special Litigation for New Yorks Legal Aid Group (NYLAG). Lawyers for NYLAG represent the interests of two of the plaintiffs---73-year-old Brooklyn residents Yankel and Vera Teitelman, immigrants from Ukraine and Holocaust survivors. The Teitelmans receive welfare, but live on food donated by charitable organizations. The situation is no easier for other plaintiffs families. Grace Lovell, from Guyana, is a victim of domestic violence who lives at a confidential address in New York together with her six-year-old son Theo. Theo suffers from anemia, allergies to a number of different foods, and insomnia. Lovell receives welfare, but has serious difficulty acquiring adequate food, because New York authorities refuse to provide her with food stamps. She is unable to provide her son the food his doctor recommended. Dchem Ndai, from Mali, lives in a special night shelter for victims of domestic abuse. She and her young son receive welfare, but must live off of cheap macaroni. Ducardo Gutierrez, an elderly woman from Colombia, lives in Queens. After paying her rent (for which she relies on welfare), she is left without enough to acquire food. In order to eat, she turns to a nearby senior center, charities, and public soup kitchens. Lawyers insist that state authorities should grant food stamps to all needy legal immigrants, regardless of their arrival date or citizenship status. Last year, a coalition of advocacy groups secured a decision from a New York appellate court granting indigent legal immigrants rights to state Medicaid. The judge based his decision on the 17th article of the New York State Constitution, which obliges authorities to grant necessary social assistance to all legal residents in need. In addition, the judge ruled that New York State authorities may not violate the principle of equal protection as they had been, by punishing immigrants for arriving after August 22, 1996. The coalition of social advocates who brought the food stamps suit includes New York Legal Assistance Group (212-750-0800, ex.123); Welfare Law Center (212-633-6967); The Legal Aid Society (718-422-2787); Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (212-822-8329); and the Greater Upstate Law Project (716-454-6500). You can call these numbers and see about joining the class action suit if you have been refused food stamps because of your incorrect arrival date (after August 22, 1996) in the United States. Irina Matiychenko, a lawyer for NYLAG, in an interview with the Russian Forward, strongly emphasized that the discussion is about only the state food stamps program. The suit does not apply to the federal governments food stamp program. The Russian Forward will certainly communicate the judges decision, which, we hope, will be in favor of immigrants. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-07-05 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 257 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Legal immigrants sue for rights to food stamps 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. A coalition of social advocates is suing New York to open the state food stamp program to all poor, Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-07-05