Support New York is dedicated to healing the effects of sexual assault and abuse. Our aim is to empower survivors, to hold accountable those who have perpetuated harm, and to maintain a community dialogue about consent, mutual aid, transformative justice, and our society’s narrow views of abuse. We believe that everyone has a role to play in ending inter-personal violence, and we look to those who have been most affected to guide us. We value experience over experts, passion over professionals, and devotion over degrees.
We came together in 2005 in order to create our own safe(r) space and provide support for people of all genders, races, ages and orientations, separate from the police and prison systems that perpetuate oppression. A safer space is a supportive, non-threatening environment that encourages open-mindedness, respect, a willingness to learn from others, as well as physical and mental safety. It is a space that is critical of the power structures that affect our everyday lives, and in which power dynamics, backgrounds, behavior and how these things affect others are prioritized. It’s a space that respects survivors’ specific needs. We believe that experts are not always able to provide everything we need, and that all of us are capable of helping each other heal.
For a list of our basic founding principles / points of unity, see our Pillars.