NYCAHN IS AWARD WINNING
>>In 2000, NYCAHN Board Member, Bob Kohler was a presented a NYC Council Proclamation for his role as a NYCAHN HASA Human Rights Monitor
>>In 2002, NYCAHN co-founder Joe Capestany was awarded the Vanguard Award by the New York AIDS Coalition for his advocacy for funding from the City Council for the New York City Communities of Color HIV/AIDS Initiative.
>>In 2002, NYCAHN co-founder Joe Capestany was presented with a Certificate of Achievement from the NYC Department of Homeless Services for his role in opening up the Continuum of Care funding process to homeless individuals by the Commissioner.
Read What the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation had to say about Jennifer & NYCAHN:
"Jennifer Flynn co-founded and directs the New York City AIDS Housing Network, which sees to it that every New Yorker with HIV/AIDS who requests shelter receives it.
In fact, that city is required by law to provide housing to those with HIV/AIDS, but it was a law that wasn't being enforced until Jennifer Flynn took a stand—quite literally.
In a remarkable act of devotion and persistence, over the course of close to two years, Jennifer ended her workday by standing for six hours in front of New York City's largest welfare center to protest the lack of emergency housing for people living with HIV/AIDS.
She and her fellow activists took their places on the sidewalk whether it was hot or cold, raining or snowing—whether they were tired or discouraged or gawked at by passersby.
Ultimately, this unusual act of protest, combined with skillful litigation and public education, resulted in the City being found in contempt of a court order—and today every homeless New Yorker living with AIDS who needs shelter receives it.
The New York City AIDS Housing Network operates at the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic—in the neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, Chelsea and Hells Kitchen, which have been affected by the AIDS crisis longer than any other communities in the City—possibly in our country.
Not surprisingly, the epidemic has hit low-income people of color harder than any other demographic group in that city.
These are the people who Jennifer works for and works with, because, like all of the health leaders we are honoring here tonight, Jennifer focuses on teaching people to stand up for themselves.
In fact, the Network that she founded is a membership organization that is led by people who are living with HIV and AIDS. Jennifer has trained more than 1,000 people in the basics of community organizing and advocacy.
Hear the words of one woman she has trained: “We are all willing to do this grueling work because we know that Jennifer is working 10 times harder—all of the time. She is there fighting with her heart to make sure that we have access to housing and to our human rights.”
We applaud Jennifer's stubbornness and persistence and her willingness to “fight with her heart” and honor her as a Community Health Leader this evening."