
Michael Garrett: Homeless/Vulnerable in NYC
Donation protected
UPDATE: Michael Garrett's story was just featured in the New York Times. Thank you, Andy Newman for your fearless journalism. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/05/nyregion/homeless-hotel-shelter-ny.html
And thank you Michael for being honest, brave, and telling the world your story. If you are moved by the story and want to help Michael, please feel free to donate and please feel free to send him your love and your message. He is a survivor. But sadly, it's been over a year, and not much has changed. The City needs to seriously help vulnerable homeless people now--and when the pandemic ends. Michael's story is not unique, and we are grateful to him for being so open and willing to share it with the goal of changing the way people look at the homeless during and post-pandemic. We are all human beings who need to take care of eachother.
Here's our Pandemic Post from March 2020 so you can see how little has changed as you read the story above: Michael Garrett is a homeless man in New York City. He is kind, hardworking, and lives a clean lifestyle. He is homeless because when he first started having heart issues on the job, his large, national employer fired him because they didn't want to employ someone with a heart condition. After that he had a heart surgery. He recovered. He continues to have shortness of breath issues and cannot lift heavy objects or climb a lot of stairs. He's in the category of those most vulnerable to COVID-19. He went to the city for transitional housing while he got back on his feet. The city refused to shelter him, saying they didn't want the "liability" of having someone in their shelter who might have a heart attack while staying there. Michael wants to find stable housing and a job, but both have been challenging because the economy is shut down and the City won't house people with medical issues. Michael has been living in the subways and on the street. The City is doing nothing to get him adequate, socially-distanced, housing and services during this time. The Partnership for the Homeless and Legal Aid tried to advocate for Michael to receive a separate room or studio apartment in these times; the City's system told them it would accomodate him. Instead, they put him through a battery of new tests and then had him wait at a crowded facility where people were sneezing, coughing, ill, and conditions were unsanitary. Michael told us that his health would be better off if he were sleeping on the street. That's when we realized that the City is not going to help him and has no plan for the health-vulnerable homeless. We are raising money to get him off the streets for a month into a hotel so he can stay safe and isolated. At this point, hotel rooms are about $60/night for a decent place in Manhattan. We are also trying to get him some extra money on a gift card to survive--so he can order food without having to go out and risk his health during the quarantine.
And thank you Michael for being honest, brave, and telling the world your story. If you are moved by the story and want to help Michael, please feel free to donate and please feel free to send him your love and your message. He is a survivor. But sadly, it's been over a year, and not much has changed. The City needs to seriously help vulnerable homeless people now--and when the pandemic ends. Michael's story is not unique, and we are grateful to him for being so open and willing to share it with the goal of changing the way people look at the homeless during and post-pandemic. We are all human beings who need to take care of eachother.
Here's our Pandemic Post from March 2020 so you can see how little has changed as you read the story above: Michael Garrett is a homeless man in New York City. He is kind, hardworking, and lives a clean lifestyle. He is homeless because when he first started having heart issues on the job, his large, national employer fired him because they didn't want to employ someone with a heart condition. After that he had a heart surgery. He recovered. He continues to have shortness of breath issues and cannot lift heavy objects or climb a lot of stairs. He's in the category of those most vulnerable to COVID-19. He went to the city for transitional housing while he got back on his feet. The city refused to shelter him, saying they didn't want the "liability" of having someone in their shelter who might have a heart attack while staying there. Michael wants to find stable housing and a job, but both have been challenging because the economy is shut down and the City won't house people with medical issues. Michael has been living in the subways and on the street. The City is doing nothing to get him adequate, socially-distanced, housing and services during this time. The Partnership for the Homeless and Legal Aid tried to advocate for Michael to receive a separate room or studio apartment in these times; the City's system told them it would accomodate him. Instead, they put him through a battery of new tests and then had him wait at a crowded facility where people were sneezing, coughing, ill, and conditions were unsanitary. Michael told us that his health would be better off if he were sleeping on the street. That's when we realized that the City is not going to help him and has no plan for the health-vulnerable homeless. We are raising money to get him off the streets for a month into a hotel so he can stay safe and isolated. At this point, hotel rooms are about $60/night for a decent place in Manhattan. We are also trying to get him some extra money on a gift card to survive--so he can order food without having to go out and risk his health during the quarantine.
Fundraising team (3)
Sonal Keenan Bhatia
Organizer
New York, NY
Michael Garrett
Beneficiary
Julia Gokhberg
Team member
E.E. Keenan
Team member