This program originally aired on May 20th 2021.
Julie Salamon (Wall Street Journal and New York Times) sat down with Chief Executive Officer & President of the Bowery Residents’ Committee, Muzzy Rosenblatt. Muzzy discusses the core of what BRC strives to provide for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness and how their work and services were impacted by the pandemic. Muzzy speaks to the client-centered approach of BRC and how they strive to empower their clients to reclaim their lives. BRC provides a range of comprehensive services including temporary and long-term housing, mental health services, substance abuse services, workforce development, and targeting programming for older adults and children. Muzzy speaks to New York City’s unique status as a “right to shelter” place; a mandate that requires the city to provide temporary housing to any person who asks for it. This status has created a bureaucratic focus on quantity with less resources in place to focus on quality and accountability. Muzzy would like to see a greater investment from political leaders to supporting systems that are proving to be successful as a means of more effectively serving New Yorkers experiencing homelessness.
Topics covered in this program: New York City shelters, housing, social support systems, Covid-19, a job in service, growing up as the child of Holocaust survivors, growing up in New York City.
For more on the Bowery Residents’ Committee visit their website.
