The mission to end homelessness in New York continued into the new year with even better results. If we even get one person onto a path towards realizing their dreams, then we have succeeded. We are very proud to say that we are confident in having done so for at least one young shelter disadvantaged youth in New York.
We got this young man, John Doe (to protect his identity), a wardrobe, a roof over his head, transportation, money, and a way to attend a New York Public School in order to get his high school diploma so that he may join the Navy, which is his dream in life.
John initially wandered into our Bryant Park encampment on Wednesday and gave us his wish list. Little did he know he would get more than just a new pair of boots and a sleeping bag, he received a road map to achieving his dreams of joining the navy.
On Saturday, he came to our encampment where we were handing out the new wish lists and he hung out for a bit longer. Motivated by not only him, but several other shelter disadvantaged individuals, Nicole Kulovany and I decided to mentor them and to get them on track for a brighter future.
John told us that his day consists of wandering around New York until about 4am so that he is tired enough to fall asleep in the loud cityscape. He wakes up whenever someone wakes him up and heads to the library, and stays there until closing time and then repeats the schedule. Indeed, he saw us initially on his way to the New York Public Library adjacent to Bryant Park.
He told us that his dream was to join the Navy and become a Navy Seal. The only problem is that he does not have his high school diploma and the Navy rarely accepts individuals who do not have this critical document. Immediately we scanned through the New York legislation and discovered the Mckinney-Vento Act, a federal law that entitles children who are homeless to a free, appropriate public education, and requires schools to remove barriers to their enrollment, attendance, and success in school. The act continues to say that students who are homeless have the right to:
1. Go to school, no matter where they live or how long they’ve lived there
2. Enroll and participate in school without proof of residency, immunizations, school records, or other documents normally needed for enrollment
3. Receive free transportation to school and to school programs
4. Receive the same special programs and services, if needed, provided to all other students served in these programs
5. Enroll and attend class in the school of their choice, even while the family or youth and school district resolve disagreements about enrollment
Armed with this information we armed our new friend with resources required to get him into school immediately, which actually starts today.
Barriers To a Path Off the Streets Starts With the Very System Designed To Help Them
With the plan to get John into a high school, and to get his diploma in place, the remaining obstacle was to get him off of the streets. John initially arrived in New York in October and had been staying at Covenant House, a shelter, but was then discharged two weeks ago. This year, New York has had a freakishly warm winter, with temperatures in the 70s on Christmas day. The tide however, is starting to change. Temperatures dropped an average of 20 degrees just within the time that Silver Lake Love arrived in New York, and John is not mentally or physically prepared for the change.
Our question is why was John allowed to go to the streets when he had already been in a shelter? We called the Covenant House and they said this was standard protocol and that they had given John a referral to go to another shelter called Project Hospitality. We called Project Hospitality and was told that there were no available beds and that there was no more occupancy. The operator told us that he could, however, “drop in” to the shelter and stay on the floor. Keep in mind that this shelter was a 40 minute drive away from Covenant House, in Staten Island and outside of traditional New York metro lines. A red flag in of itself. We wanted to put John in our hotel room at this point but we were leaving the next morning and this was obviously not a sustainable solution. We were left with no other options at this point so we took an $80 Uber ride to get to Project Hospitality. Before we headed to Staten Island we asked over and over, via phone, what documents John needed and whether he was “guaranteed” shelter and we were given a definitive yes.
We arrived at the shelter, and checked John in. To help him get on his feet we gave him a work outfit, job interview outfit, toothbrush, toothpaste, luggage, new shoes, sleeping bag, ear plugs, money, an unlimited metro card, and security locks. We said our goodbyes gave him a hug, and then departed. Halfway back to New York, we got a call from the shelter that John could not stay because he was under the age of 21. They were ready to kick him out again but we told them that we were coming back. We returned to the shelter and pleaded with the managers to let him stay. They finally capitulated and he had a place to stay for the night. In the morning John will go to the high school to enroll, and find yet another shelter where they would allow him to stay at on a more permanent basis until he gets back on his feet.
Without the aid of Nicole and I, we believe the shelter may have just let him go off into the street again, to be another chronic homeless person. It took the help of two extremely determined individuals with a sizable budge just to get this boy a roof for one night.
Now, imagine the same situation that John went through, without the help of Nicole and I. You have not a cent to your name, you’re kicked out of your shelter and told to go to another shelter 20 miles away. You panhandle, and make the 10 dollars it takes to get to that shelter. You finally arrive, its 10pm and the shelter is nothing more than a 20×20 room filled with 30 other people who are forced to be on the floor with no bed, no blanket, no pillow. And the people? They are loud, on drugs, and all eyeing your things. Some of them verbally assault you, and some are not even conscious or capable of comprehending reality. Then, the manager of the shelter comes to tell you that you do not even qualify to stay there. They kick you out, and you are back onto the streets again and it is 40 degrees. Would you ever trust another shelter again?
The above situation is the answer to the people that claim that the homeless do not want shelter, that they would rather stay on the streets, and that they would rather do drugs and be on the streets. These same people claim that the system provides them with “everything”, a roof, a job, assistance, money, and that the only thing they have to do is give up drugs. It’s not true.
