BROOKLYN-USA.ORG MESSAGE FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENT ADAMS
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“LET’S GET INVOLVED.”
When Mayor de Blasio released his plans to open more than 90 homeless shelters, it sent shockwaves throughout the city. Frankly, I felt that shock.
Immediately after his announcement, many residents from the communities of Crown Heights and Prospect Lefferts-Gardens came out to an emergency
meeting in order to voice their outrage over another shelter being placed in their area. I shared that concern. When I was a state senator representing the
area, I actively fought to ensure the burden of homeless shelters would be carried by all communities.
A short time after the meeting, I received a call from a woman who told me that throughout her life she had been on the verge of homelessness move in
front of throughout her life. She talked about her son keeping a bag of clothing near his bed out of fear that the City marshal would come during the middle
of the night to throw them out of their home and he would lack clothing to wear to school. She expressed to me the challenges of not having a home and
the traumatizing fear that comes with it.
It was her belief that the trauma is compounded when homeless people hear their former neighbors state that they don’t want them around.
After hanging up the phone with that woman – my mother Dorothy – I was reminded how much a mom can give you the proper perspective on life.
Her phone call, and her recollection of how I kept a bag of clothing by my bed, brought the homeless fight full circle for me. It brought up old feelings
of being teased at school for wearing clothing that was too big, or having to use Tide laundry detergent to bathe because we couldn’t afford to buy fancy
bar soap. It also made me reflect on the role that the
Salvation Army and other community groups played
in assisting our family with making it through those
challenging years.
I got the message from my mother loud and clear.
Although I still believe that the City should have opened
the first of its new shelters in communities that don’t
currently have any, my mom has assisted me in
amending my thinking on this issue.
As a former police officer, I have long advocated
that it is not only the job of the NYPD to make our
communities safe. I have also stated that it is not solely
the role of ACS to fight child abuse. The community at
large must do its share in these important initiatives.
This also is true for the homeless issue. City Hall
has its part to play, but we, the community, are also
charged with a critical role. We must come up with a
supportive plan, and throwing a “rock” of disagreement
is not a plan.
The elder who was forced out of her home due
to increased rents, and in some cases bad-acting
landlords, was the woman who used to babysit our
children. The unemployed male who stands on the
corner at Bedford and Atlantic avenues was the same
child that once played Little League baseball alongside
us. The woman with three children who can’t find a
landlord to take her Section 8 voucher was once the
cute little girl with ribbons in her hair who attended our
church service. These are not strangers in our midst;
these are our brothers and sisters who have fallen on
hard times.
I want to use this as a moment to change the conversation on homelessness. Instead of saying “we don’t want them here,” I want to move toward
“adopting” shelters. My call is for people of faith to invite homeless families to our houses of worship. High school and college students can show shelter
residents how to fill out the forms to get their Social Security cards, driver’s licenses, and other documents needed for education and employment. Block
associations and civic groups can embrace these sites and help integrate them into the activities of an inviting community. Those of us who have professional
skills can assist and instruct. For our way-too-large population of homeless children, we can provide tutoring services so they can be ready for college. Our
neighbors who have fallen on hard times can use basic sanitary items, such as feminine hygiene products, soaps, and undergarments; when we go shopping
for ourselves, how about adding an extra item for someone in need?
Brooklyn Borough Hall will be gathering local stakeholders to talk about how we can come together and have a community response to homelessness.
The goal is not to replace the Mayor’s plan, but to complement it in the same manner that we have successfully addressed crime in our city. There’s no need
to reinvent the wheel: sites like The Kensington, a temporary family homeless shelter on McDonald Avenue, exemplifies the shared benefit that can arise
from community engagement and support.
We are a safer city because everyday people stood up and said, “Let’s get involved.” People did this for my family as a child and, as my mother reminded
me, I must do it for others as an adult.
Photo Credit: Yamilky Crisostomo/Brooklyn BP’s Office
Borough President Adams addressed an audience gathered inside Kings Theatre in Flatbush for Council
Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s State of the City address.