The visit to Capitol Hall reminded me a lot of my time as a community organizer, where I interviewed many homeless people and worked closely with many homeless children. An abandoned hotel in my neighborhood had been transformed into a homeless residence for families and victims of domestic abuse, much to the dismay of many of the residence and shop-owners. There were worries of their land values going down, and fear of an increase in crime and violence in the neighborhood. What they, and a lot of people do not realize, is that homelessness is not uniform; not everyone is homeless because they are drug addicts or have mental illnesses, and not every homeless person is jobless. Keeping with this mindset will only hurt and hinder the homeless people during a time where love and support is needed most.
Capitol Hall is doing a great job for such a difficult issue. Affordable housing in New York City is a huge issue, and Capitol Hall goes above and beyond just basic housing. They provide many other resources, such as medical care and financial help for their residents. It is clear to me that to solve the homeless crisis in New York City, more places like Capitol Hall will need to be built. Although the road will be difficult, this would be attacking the roots of the issue, rather than just the symptoms, like homeless shelters do. Hopefully, eventually, everyone in New York City will have a safe home to live in.
-Jennifer
