Article Date: May 12, 2023
Website: New York Post
Author: Reuven Fenton
Summarized by Chat GPT and Wayne McEachron AKA Osiris
Displaced Homeless Veterans Amid Migrant Crisis:
1) Nonprofit group Yerik Israel Toney Foundation reports nearly two dozen homeless veterans evicted from upstate NY hotels to make space for incoming migrants, highlighting a distressing situation for veterans.
2) Sharon Toney-Finch, CEO of Yerik Israel Toney Foundation, a disabled military veteran herself, created the organization to raise awareness of premature births and assist homeless and low-income military service veterans in need of living assistance.
3) Homeless veterans, including a 24-year-old man who served in Afghanistan, were informed by the hotels that their temporary housing was being terminated, and they would need to move to another location.
4) The Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh, 60 miles north of New York City in Orange County, evicted 15 veterans, while the remaining five were displaced from the Super 8 and Hampton Inn & Suites in Middletown.
5) The Middletown hotels are not yet hosting migrants but were reportedly on the city's shortlist for accommodating them.
6) Sharon Toney-Finch says the hotels didn't explicitly state that the veterans had to move because of the migrants, but the timing strongly suggests a connection.
7) The 20 displaced veterans have been relocated to a Hudson Valley hotel approximately 20 minutes away; Toney-Finch requested the hotel not be named.
8) The hotels involved in the evictions either had no comment, did not respond to inquiries, or did not immediately reply to voicemail messages left by The Post.
9) The veterans were originally scheduled to stay at the three hotels for up to four weeks while permanent housing was found; they were evicted about two weeks into their stay, undermining trust and forcing the nonprofit to start from scratch.
10) State Assemblyman Brian Maher, a Republican representing Orange County, emphasizes the importance of respecting veterans' service and prioritizing their needs, while Toney-Finch believes that the situation boils down to financial motives, as hotels may receive more money for housing migrants than veterans.
All of the Direct Quotes from the Article:
- Sharon Toney-Finch: "Our veterans have been placed in another hotel due to what's going on with the immigrants."
- Sharon Toney-Finch: "Last night, I was crying."
- Sharon Toney-Finch: "That's so unfair, because at the end of the day, we are a small nonprofit, and we do pay $88 a day for a veteran to be there."
- Brian Maher: "Shining a light on this is important because we need to make sure these hotels know how important it is to respect the service of our veterans before they kick [them] out of hotels to make room."
- Brian Maher: "Whether you agree with asylum-seekers being here or not, we can't just ignore these veterans that are in our charge that we are supposed to protect: the New Yorkers and Americans."
- Brian Maher: "For these people only being there a few weeks, then to be told after having a level of trust developed, 'Hey, you have to get out,' That's not right."