One homeless man, who is gay, middle-aged, single, and overcoming the past affects of being a victim of domestic violence, describes the "vicious circle" of being homeless in the midst of the brutal 2014 winter season in New York City.
Watch as a harrowing tale of being cycled through single-male shelters, including one on Wards Island, where he was beaten ; through Metropolitan Hospital with its jaded social workers ; through a series of non-profit organizations, such as Safe Horizon, including LGBT groups, like the Anti-Violence Project and Callen-Lorde, which denied social workers based on the man's sero status ; and finally through the cold city agencies, like 311, the mayor's office, and the Department of Mental Health, which, at times, left this man waiting for appointments, sent e-mails from one commissioner no longer in office, and, incredibly, required the homeless man to have a physical address.
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(NYC : News & Analysis)
According to statistics made available by the Coalition for the Homeless, there are more people, who are homeless, than there is space in the shelter system. “[M]ore than 5,000 homeless adults and children sleep each night in other public and private shelters, and thousands more sleep rough on the streets or in other public spaces.” On top of this, nobody reviews how “the system” treats homeless people.
Video was filmed in its entirety on 01 March 2014, edited, and uploaded on 05 March 2014.
Produced by : @ProgressQueens on Twitter
To protect the man's identity, his real name is being used in the video, but it is not being used in the text about this video. To contact the homeless man, please reach out on Twitter to @ProgressQueens.
