“On a human level, it just makes no sense"

Sudden changes to letting young people "rest" at overnight drop-in centers, the East Village Eye, and your personal board of directors!

Ben Fractenberg/ THE CITY

A worker at one of New York City’s 5 overnight drop-in centers for runaway and homeless young people emailed THE CITY this week to share that their program was changing or even maybe ending. Thinking it was just a budget story, I reached out. It turned out to be more complicated and, in many ways, more inhumane: in January, the Department of Youth and Community Development, the agency that oversees these facilities, told the centers people could no longer “rest” or sleep at these sites.

These drop-ins, which began overnight service in 2018 under a pilot program, are legally and technically not overnight shelters. But they’ve had spaces and furniture for people to rest, like cots and recliners, since they expanded to 24/7 service. It makes sense, when you think of someone coming at 3 a.m. for help, to have a place for them to close their eyes. But DYCD was saying that was no longer allowed. All that furniture had to go.

It alarmed these providers and advocates who say the change has already discouraged some young people from coming to the centers. With a lack of shelter beds and other housing, some daytime drop-in centers will sometimes suggest the overnight places to the 14 to 24 year-olds they work with so they have a place to stay that isn’t the street or the subway, one worker told me. 

“Nobody thinks that [the drop-ins] should be operating as de facto shelters but the solution to that is to create resources that young people need to move into appropriate shelter, rather than to penalize and punish street homeless youth who have nowhere else to go by not letting them close their eyes or relax and rest,” Joe Westmacott, the assistant director for housing and benefits resources at Safe Horizon Streetwork in Manhattan, told me.

You can read the full story here.

Also this week, I wrote about the 70 or so families displaced by Ida who are still living in a hotel. That ends at the end of the month for them. [THE CITY]

And listen to this interview we did at FAQ with the publisher of the East Village Eye, an old newspaper that ran from 1979 to 1987 and captured a changing downtown New York City with purpose and flair. That archive was acquired by the New York Public Library, and we also spoke with a curator and archivist there. [FAQ]

You can also read the full East Village Eye archives here! I spent a few hours this week going through as many as I can. I love the articles, the photo spreads, the covers — but also the ads. Like this one I kept seeing:

And this one (I was not alive in 1984 so I guess I survived it)

There’s also this ad — which turns out is from longtime Rockaway artist Geoff Rawling. I recognized his style and the way he writes his Ss; he confirmed it’s him.

A PERSONAL REFLECTION!

Years ago I read some story (maybe it was this one) about the idea of a “personal board of directors” to help you in your career and life. I didn’t really think about it again until last week when I found myself in one of my quarterly spirals about something stupid (it is ALWAYS about something stupid) and realized I had many people to call.

What a blessing, I thought. But then: I guess these are my board of directors! Thankfully my friends were not horrified when I told them they were on my board. One said it was an “honor.” Another friend claimed her role as board chair.

My “board” are made up of my closest friends, people of all ages who’ve met me in different stages of my life. They do what all good friends do: listen to me and root for me and hold me accountable. I do the same for them. As an unpaid position, a board cannot replace professional help and guidance (please get a therapist if you can afford to) but they do always offer me good advice. And thankfully, I have no activist board member looking to shake things up too much. This is my thanks to them for holding the position (and a check to make sure they read my newsletter 😇)

Thanks for reading!