Public Employee Press

Roberts honored by grassroots group, Community Voices Heard

DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts was honored June 2 at the 15-year anniversary celebration of the activist group Community Voices Heard. The gala at the Museum of the City of New York also honored New York Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez; author, college professor and longtime activist Frances Fox Piven; and David Hansell, acting assistant secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.

CVH Executive Director Sondra Youdelman called the honorees "inspirational partners."

Grassroots start

"This is a real grassroots organization, that's why I feel so proud to receive this award," Roberts said. "I'm well aware of your struggles as recipients of public assistance and the city's efforts to require you to work and then pit you against city employees."

CVH began 15 years ago as a single-issue organization that organized recipients of public assistance in East Harlem and has since expanded its work to include welfare reform, affordable housing and workforce and community development. Headquartered in East Harlem, CVH has added members and offices in Yonkers, Newburgh and Poughkeepsie.