“The Homeless Protection Act … expands New York hate crime laws to include homelessness as a protected class: an attack against a person perceived to be experiencing homelessness motivated by bias could be treated as a hate crime.”
Blake was attacked on the subway, while experiencing homelessness.
He is working now, after finding refuge, services, and connections to affordable housing at an Urban Pathways Safe Haven in the Bronx.
There are many Blakes. But we do not hear their names or see their faces or share their stories. They are never reported. Nationally, the Bureau of Justice Statistics finds that less than half (44 percent) of violent victimizations (of people experiencing homelessness) are reported to police…