When Wellbeing
is Displaced

STORY BY  PAMELA Y. ROZON

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL YOUNG

Published Jun 2023

What once was a thriving theater district in the Bronx has been reshaped over time into a poverty-driven community. You cannot escape it; with every turn of your head, you see another depressing sight. A man lying on the ground gripping a small paper cup begging for a dollar, and another wandering aimlessly through the streets. In our community, this is everyday life. Social media is filled with stories, such as violent encounters on the subway or a crazed maniac at your local coffee shop. Our society is no stranger to victims and perpetrators among the homeless population. Yet the problem of homelessness is much more widespread than these social media stories suggest. According to the Department of Homeless Services, about 47% of Bronx residents struggle to cover living expenses and the number of New Yorkers sleeping in shelters rose by 60 percent over the past decade. Focusing only on violence and mental illness with the homeless seems misplaced, as if we’re trying to differentiate ourselves from all the homeless people, who are just struggling to find a way to make ends meet. “A lot of our tenants were coming to us again from years of homelessness, and they were not connected to services. A lot of mental health needs were not met, and a lot of physical health needs were not met” said former supportive housing employee Maria Rogers. “The whole purpose of the model is just to allow somebody a stable housing situation so they can take care of everything else.”

Maria Rogers, 37, was employed at Breaking Ground, a supportive housing facility for formerly homeless and low-income adults, for 14 years. She oversaw five buildings located in both Brooklyn and the Bronx. These buildings were somewhat unique compared to other supportive housing facilities, as they didn’t require tenants to be sober from their addictions. She says her goal was to provide safe housing for everyone, even if they were addicts. In Roger’s experience, most of her tenants had a dual diagnosis, meaning they suffered mental and physical issues, and many would turn to substance abuse rather than medication as a way of coping. She refers to the process of being accepted into supportive housing programs as a “lottery” or “waiting game.” Applicants are put into the Department for Homeless Services system (DHS), and have to wait an undetermined amount of time to be accepted into any programs. Rogers says support groups from DHS have outreach programs where representatives go into the streets, shelters, or drop-in centers, to make contact with those in need of housing and enlist them into the system. When chosen, clients undergo interviews by social service partners to ensure their eligibility into the program.

“It can be very difficult to see certain individuals in situations that they have no control over. A lot of people have mental health issues. A lot of people have substance abuse issues. And, it’s not for lack of trying. If you don’t get the correct help it can be an uphill battle,” said DHS employee Landre Hassan. Hassan, 36, is a case manager supervisor at a DHS facility in Queens called the Pyramid. The facility is mainly for asylum seekers and only houses single-male adults. He also worked at another all-single-male facility called Delight, located in the Bronx. In assisting the homeless population, he’s seen the damaging effects that substance abuse has on homeless people. He says those suffering from substance abuse are heavily dependent and will do anything to keep using drugs. As an example, he says that one of his clients didn’t have the money, yet was so desperate for drugs that he resorted to smoking potpourri, decorative and fragrant dried flowers. He’s witnessed people share needles, do sexual acts, and more, just for any access to drugs. Hassan says the facility calls emergency services at least three times a month due to overdoses. 

One event that impacted him the most was when one person fell down the stairs and almost died due to being intoxicated. “I came in from a meeting with a client and all hell broke loose because the client was high and he fell down the stairs. There was blood everywhere. So we called EMS and we thought he was gonna die but he didn’t, thank god,” said Hassan. “He lived, but the next week he was on the same drugs.” 

Survival is the primary focus for many people suffering from a lack of shelter and resources. Yet in an effort to escape from their situation, many homeless people become addicted. Drugs such as heroin and crack are the most popular ones seen on the streets. When walking near Lincoln Hospital, it’s no surprise to see sidewalks covered in needles and elastic band tourniquets. The Forced Hospitalization Bill was put into effect in early November 2022 by Mayor Eric Adams, and allows police to send anyone they deem in a “psychiatric crisis” into a hospital. Mayor Addams says this bill was created to help the homeless and mentally ill, yet the people that care for the homeless beg to differ. 

“I think that it really demonizes individuals with mental illness to say that everybody who has a mental illness is a risk to themselves or to others. It’s easy to say someone got pushed onto the train tracks by somebody who was mentally ill, and so we were all at risk,” says Rogers. For someone struggling with a mental illness, the police powers created by this bill can cause more trauma and can threaten civil liberties. Rogers states she has, in the past, been the one responsible for calling EMS for people who are a risk to themselves or others. She says these calls are incredibly difficult to make and does everything in her power to avoid them. According to Rogers, It’s a burden on the police to make decisions like this, especially those who have no experience in mental health services.

Rogers says the police are unfit to make decisions on someone’s mental well-being and often don’t understand someone’s baseline behavior. Whether it’s yelling, cursing, or aggressively talking, these behaviors could be normal for certain individuals and don’t require forced hospitalization. Furthermore, there aren’t enough resources to treat everyone the police deem mentally ill. According to Human Rights Watch, funds for public housing have been slashed by 35%, meaning there is a new wave of people unable to afford to pay rent. Having more people forced to live on the streets can lead to an overflow in shelters that are already struggling with capacity issues. “I’m already dealing with hunger. I’m already dealing with not having clothes on my back. I’m already dealing with the cold outside. And you want me to go see a doctor for what?” says Hassan. “Obviously mental health is a necessity, but to the homeless person it’s not enough.”

There are some homeless individuals who reject mental health services. Hassan says in part it has to do with the stigma attached to asking for help. For many, after living independently and having to act tough in the face of challenges daily, it becomes difficult to ask for any assistance. When you are homeless, It’s difficult not to feel abandoned by society. Rogers says we underestimate the psychological turmoil people face constantly being ignored by the public. It’s become normal to look away at a person laying in the street asking for help; it’s become normal to ignore someone on the subway when they ask for food or money. She says clients often yell at her to get attention when they first arrive. "When you become homeless, you have been stripped of your right to choose. You can’t choose what to wear, where to sleep, or what to eat. When you go to a soup kitchen or program it’s never, “I get to choose from this buffet of food.” You get what is handed to you and society expects nothing but gratitude. “Helping with one aspect is great but it’s by no means solving everything”, Rogers says. There’s no simple, instant solution to homelessness. However, there are ways we can prevent people from becoming homeless and craving the escape that drugs can offer. According to Rogers’, “providing housing is a helpful first step, but it isn’t the main issue these people face.”

There is no deadline for how long someone can live at the buildings and many tenants stay for years before they eventually move on. For those living on Social Security, they are unable to have more than $2,000 in their bank account. This severely restricts people’s prospects of having enough money to live outside of supportive housing. Furthermore, in a city like New York where living is expensive, these individuals simply cannot afford to move into another space without rental assistance. There are many limitations that affect the homeless. However, once we start understanding that homelessness is a complex issue involving many factors, we can begin to offer people the exact resources they need, and truly help resolve some of the issues that they face.