October 17th Testimony from New York

In New York, the World Day for Overcoming Poverty is celebrated each year at the United Nations.  This year, ATD Fourth world brought members from Boston and New York to share their experiences at the event alongside the Ambassadors from France and Burkina Faso.The following is an excerpt from a testimony that was shared by Jose Nunez, resident of a homeless shelter in Queens.  We hope you are as inspired by Jose’s vision as we have been and that you passed an enjoyable and energizing Occtober 17th wherever you are!--[…]  When you live in a shelter, you face discrimination every day. From the food you eat to the way people treat you in the street, you face discrimination. These stories and experiences are true for the shelter community, but they really apply to people all over the city, all over the world, that are living in poverty. It’s about everybody.Imagine having to serve your children chicken that tastes like rubber.Imagine not being able to afford to live in a place with proper standards.Imagine being told how to raise your kids, because people think that you’re not capable because of your financial situation.Imagine you or your children being teased at school.Imagine children who have to watch their parents struggle.Imagine eight people sleeping in one bedroom.Imagine not being able to tell your family and friends where you live because you’re embarrassed.Imagine being dismissed repeatedly because nobody cares about you.Imagine being on time for an appointment but having to wait hours because its assumed that you have nothing better to do with your time.Imagine having to lie about your address just to receive decent health care.Imagine being judged by the people who are supposed to help you.Imagine being continuously passed over for a position for which you are qualified because of where you live.Imagine the only place you have to turn to for help sets you up to fail.Imagine being taking advantage of because you have no place to go.Imagine not being able to stand up for yourself for fear of losing benefits your family needs.Imagine being ill-treated for so long that you begin to expect it.Imagine people assuming that you are barbaric, crazy, a drug addict, a bad parent, dirty, or diseased just because of where you live.Imagine you live in a homeless shelter. Imagine you live in poverty.Throughout all of these experiences that people encounter, their mentality kind of switches, because they realize that they are really going to have to fend for themselves. What happens? People turn animalistic. They attack. They want to be heard. People feel like they’re doing all this to put them in that mentality, so that when their voices can finally be heard, all people are going to hear is that roaring animal. And they are going to have this image in their head of animals. When we say, ‘We are human beings. We deserve more.’ We get in trouble.You learn through your experiences how to react and act a certain way in order to protect yourself and your loved ones. When you’ve been ill-treated for so long, you learn to disconnect yourself from your community. You become suspicious of other people. You think that everybody is in it for themselves and they’re not going to help you.This is my life. I live in a homeless shelter.I live, I eat, I breathe, I bleed. Just because my financial situation is a little different than yours doesn’t make me any less of a human being, or a responsible person, or a good father, or mother. We are a community here. You have to do what you have to do to stick together. We learn how to be a family, we are complete strangers helping each other.So, I imagine a shelter where residents and staff come to an understanding that we are all the same, despite financial differences.I imagine a neighborhood where different races, genders, religions all come together as one community.I imagine a city where poverty is a word of the past.I imagine a country where every person has equal rights despite our unique ways.I imagine a world at peace.Imagine that.Everything leads to something. But we have to start somewhere. Everything is possible, with patience and time.