Hello friends! We’re excited to bring you this next installment of the PEU newsletter. This time, we’re diving deep into our multifaceted approach to connect immigrants in NYC to health care.

We’ve also been busy connecting New Yorkers to resources this month, hosting days of action, attending events, facilitating office hours, and more. Learn more below!

In a New York state of mind 🗽,
The Public Engagement Unit

Top 4️⃣ Resources We're Sharing this Month

Homeowner
Tax
Exemption

There are property tax breaks available for eligible New Yorkers who have qualifying physical disabilities or those age 65 or older! Our team is conducting on-the-ground outreach, canvassing in the streets, attending events with partners, and more, to ensure that eligible New Yorkers don’t miss this year’s enrollment deadline on March 15th. Learn more about homeowner tax exemptions.

Benefits
Access

There are over 70 programs and services available to serve New Yorkers. Our Special Projects Team does proactive outreach and conducts screenings to ensure that benefits and resources don’t go unused by those who qualify. Learn more about benefits screenings.

Housing Information Classes

NYC's Department of Housing Preservation and Development just announced the relaunch of their Housing Information Classes! These classes provide info on a variety of housing issues to tenants, homeowners, and property managers in NYC. They are free and held virtually on Zoom. Learn more here.

Illegal Lockouts

Last month, we shared about our work to combat illegal lockouts across the city and protect NYC tenants. If you missed it, learn more about illegal lockouts here.

Program Spotlight:

Connecting Immigrant New Yorkers to Health Care

PEU staffers pose on the sidewalk, one holds up a flyer about health care

Four women pose together in front of the Junction Boulevard Station 7 MTA stop, holding flyers about health insurance and smiling

In NYC, we believe health care should be a right, not a privilege. That’s why our City offers options for health coverage to all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status. Unfortunately, we know that the process of accessing care can be complicated. That’s why PEU’s GetCoveredNYC team was created to inform New Yorkers about their options for health coverage and provide one-on-one support to help them enroll.

For New Yorkers who cannot access traditional health insurance, New York City offers NYC Care—a health care access program that guarantees low-cost and no-cost services to New Yorkers who do not qualify for or cannot afford health insurance. PEU is proud to partner with NYC Care and we were honored to join them at their recent announcement that they have reached 125,000 members!

To support NYC Care, our GetCoveredNYC team has called and texted nearly 15,000 eligible New Yorkers about accessing primary care, and we are continuing this work as more New Yorkers enroll. We’re also conducting ongoing outreach to ensure that close to 7,000 asylum seekers currently living in the City’s care know about and can enroll in the program.

This winter, our team has been expanding its outreach work in support of two new initiatives. This month, we carried out phone outreach to asylum seeker families to connect children to free vaccination appointments so they are eligible to enroll in NYC public schools. We also launched a new campaign to raise awareness about the recent Medicaid expansion through which income-eligible undocumented immigrants age 65 and older now qualify for full Medicaid (as opposed to only emergency Medicaid). To get the word out to NYC’s immigrant communities about these programs, our GetCoveredNYC team is conducting proactive outreach via phone, on the streets, at events, through partnerships with groups like the Ecuadorian Consulate, and more.

From helping people enroll in health insurance to scheduling primary care and vaccine appointments, our GetCoveredNYC team provides multilingual, holistic support to ensure everyone can access the health resources to which they are entitled.

PEU - WHO ⭐ Staff Spotlight

Graphic with text that reads ''Staff Spotlight'' with an image of a PEU staffer in the center

Meet Rosie Wong, an Outreach Specialist on PEU’s Home Support Unit (HSU). Learn more about HSU here.

What inspires you?

When I wake up every morning with the purpose of contributing to improving someone's life, it serves as my inspiration and motivation to persevere. Though the tasks may seem small, each step forward is significant.

How did you arrive at your current role at PEU?

I have worked in various social work-related roles in Hong Kong, Chicago, and New York City. Upon settling in New York many years ago, a departing friend introduced me to apply for his position with the LES Joint Planning Council. I worked for many years as a housing advocate in various non-profit organizations before joining PEU.

Currently, my focus has shifted but my priorities stay the same: I am primarily engaged in collaborating with landlords, brokers, agents, service providers, and some tenants. When working with landlords and brokers to house voucher holders, I never give up. I believe that if there is a will, there's a way. Together, we strive to facilitate the search for permanent housing for individuals from diverse backgrounds, continually adapting to new cultures and challenges along the way.

In the News 🗞️

About PEU

The NYC Public Engagement Unit (PEU) uses community organizing principles to re-envision how the city provides services to its most vulnerable communities. Rather than expecting constituents to navigate a complex city bureaucracy to get the help they need, PEU adopts grassroots tactics to meet residents where they are — at their doors and on their phones, in their social media feeds, and in their communities. PEU combines this proactive outreach with comprehensive case management, and in doing so, builds long-term relationships between New Yorkers and their government.

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