I am homeless, disabled and I sleep on a recliner. In 1999, I was in a car accident and lost my apartment. My 15-year-old son had to move in with his father who lives in Pennsylvania, and we’ve been separated since September, when school started there. I have gone to Housing Court, the Social Security welfare offices, and Citizen’s Advice Bureau. I receive a once-a-month payout from SSI, pay my bills and on the 2nd I have no money left to my name.

I don’t want to move to a shelter. I’ve been going from my son’s apartment to my friends’, but I have overstayed my welcome in each place.  

I have been looking for help, but I have not found any agency that helps a person on SSI get an apartment unless it’s in a drug-infested area. I have also applied for housing in Section 8.

I know that it’s only a matter of time and luck before I find an apartment for my son and me. I just have to let someone know that the rumors of housing for low-income people being built in the Bronx are false. Houses and condos are being built all over the Bronx, but I have not seen anything being built for low-income families. It feels like they are pushing out the people in Bronx who can not afford to live here!

Maria Rivera