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| Jocelyn '13 (bottom center) with community members at Kerry Weber's '04 Book Signing |
“If
this was your first apartment, would you take it?” a client asked me as I
checked inside her soon-to-be closets to make sure the floors were properly
tiled. We had previously been checking plumbing, outlets for electricity,
window guards for protections, and appliances. Her question stunned me. I had
been so wrapped up in ensuring that the apartment was up to standards that I
had forgotten this was the beginning of this girl’s new life outside of foster
care. A place to call her own; a milestone I had yet to accomplish for myself
and here I was, viewing it as a task—assisting clients with their apartment viewings—to
be learned and eventually completed on my own. I paused to collect my thoughts
and she continued, “I mean...it just doesn't feel homey.” On this, we agreed.
It was stark and the atmosphere of the building is somewhat lonely as you’re
never sure of your neighbors. I swallowed the pit of fear I felt for this
adolescent girl and her two children as she viewed and later accepted her best housing
option—NYCHA apartments, affectionately known as “the projects.”
“No
apartment is going to feel like home until you've had a chance to make it your
own,” I replied. “Let’s figure out if you’re allowed to paint. I’m sure you
are.” I followed her to the building manager who was examining the kitchen with
MercyFirst’s Housing Specialist. The client asked and the manager assured her
that once she signed the lease, though technically she’d be renting, the
apartment was hers to do with what she wants, aside from obtaining an air
conditioner without permission and removing the window guards because the
manager “doesn't want any babies thrown out the window.” This was a light
comment, one to be laughed at, but it still reflected an everyday portrait of
life in the projects. A baby being tossed or at least threatened to be tossed
out the window was not all together unlikely, though, I’m hopeful that it is a
rare occurrence. We had had a taste of this rough culture when we were welcomed
in the elevator by a neighbor snickering, “all I’m going to say is...this is
the projects.”
In
the end, this client accepted the apartment and went on to confirm her
furniture order at a store down the street. Her sisters accompanied us to the
store and kept the client’s energy and excitement up. Her older sister
continually reassured her that it’s just a place to live and that if she
minded her business and no one else’s she would be just fine. To say this
experience was bittersweet would be an extremely watered down version of my
surge of emotions. I was excited for her. She had been shifted from home to
home for God knows how long and now she would finally have a place to call home;
one she could decorate how she likes. I just couldn't ignore the fact that home
for her was now in a dodgy building in which she doesn't have only herself to
look after but her children as well. It was a concrete example of an ever-evolving
system. This young girl should and does feel lucky that she has this
opportunity (the alternative being living in shelter or the streets with her
children being taken from her). The next step, though, needs to be creating
safer apartments and low-income housing for all residents, especially since
these residents include newly emancipated, single, young mothers with no stable
resources.
Jocelyn Elderton - MercyFirst - New York, NY
