THIS IS MY STORY

(Article published in HWW Oct 2008)

by Nisha Browne

My story began last year. The duplex where I lived was going on the market. I needed to look for another place to live. A few months later, my father passed away. Then my mom had a heart attack. My personal relationship with my fiancée was falling apart. We had to sell mom’s house to pay all her bills. It was too much for a young person like me to go through so I got up one morning and called my past employer in New York to ask if they had an opening. They said, yes, so I transferred my son to a school he attended when we lived in New York. By April we were packed up in a 26-foot U Haul driving back to New York. When we arrived we stayed at my best friend’s house in Valley Stream, Long Island.

Two months passed, no job and I started to stress. My friend’s husband’s family was coming back from India. There will be no space for my son and I. So I packed up everything and we stayed at different people’s homes, sometimes sleeping in my car. It was not a good thing I was doing. I wanted my son to have respect for himself and me. I packed up a very small bag and went to PATH. It was not a place where I wanted to go but there was nowhere else to go.

We were placed overnight at a motel in Queens. We woke up very early and were on the first bus to PATH at 7 am. An all day process ended after 7 pm or 8 pm. We were placed in Queens at Saratoga Family Inn. I had to go back a few days later to bring all of my paperwork. All of my things were in storage. I could not get at them because I could not pay the bill. (I applied for Public Assistance which does pay for storage, but your case must be open.) I took what I had back to PATH and explained to my first caseworker that due to the fact my things are in storage, I cannot get all the information at this time.

On my tenth day at Saratoga I was to be told if I can stay or not. It was my 12th or 13th day the worker came and gave me a letter. This letter notify me that I was found not eligible. I need to go back to PATH. I was told that when they did their investigation that they felt there was space at my friend’s house in Valley Stream. I told them that there was no space and she does not want me their any more. They kept telling me to go back there.

I can pick out every last person I spoke to at PATH that day. I saw two legal aides and I was still found ineligible. They told me I cannot reapply for ten days. Someone said “You all say the same thing.” I said “Excuse me, do not put me in the same category as everybody else. I am not like everybody else. The thing you can say is that I am homeless.” I said “That’s like me saying all blacks are racist and all whites are racist which we know is not the case.” So she asked me do I have anything else to give, so I gave my storage bill and a receipt from the Public Assistance office in which they paid some of the bill but not all of it. I waited about one or two more hours and I was still denied after all of that. I ask what am I to do? I don’t have any place to sleep. They said again “Go back to Valley Stream.” I said if I go there she will have the police called and I would have a restraining order issued on me.

I called Saratoga and the supervisor told me to come back but I have to leave at 7 am the next day and go back to PATH. At PATH this time, I saw a supervisor who asked me if I have any new information. I said no, but I cannot go back to Valley Stream. I said I am in school studying criminal justice and I cannot have a restraining order on my history. Her comment was “You have to do what you have to do.” I said “I don’t want to sleep on the street,” and she said “You have to do what you have to do.”

I just left and that night we stayed late in the park, then we rode the train back and forth until morning. I called 311 and reported the way I was treated. The second night we did almost the same thing but this time we went to the port authority and stayed until 3 am. Then we walked around in Manhattan until 5:30 am .

That morning, we rode to Far Rockaway to Councilwoman Michele Titus office. By this time I was so tired and I did not want any police office to realize I was homeless with a child and for the state to take my son. I went to get help because I knew what those people at PATH are doing was very wrong. I explained to the secretary what happened to me. She made a few calls and she was speaking to a lady from the Homeless Services who put another lady on the phone by the name of Mrs. N. Mrs. N asked to speak to me and she asked me to tell her what happened from day one. I explained everything to her. She spoke to her lawyers and they told me that they were not suppose to do that to me and I need to go back to PATH. I said they told me not to come back for ten days. But she said “No, go right back.” So I called the storage place and I went to get the paper work. Then I called Mrs. N. and she told me that she called PATH and they are expecting me. I said “If they give me a hard time, what am I to do?” She told me who to ask for. I got there about 8 pm that night and they were expecting me, I had to fill out one form then I had to go in the trailer and wait to be placed.

I was placed at William Bridge Inn which is located in the North Bronx where I am still. My son had to start a new school. I will like to thank Mrs. Deborah Moore for encouraging me to write my story.