But for the stylish group bathed in the glow of chandeliers, reflected off beveled mirrors, as a deejay spun soul tunes and aromas of chicken and meatballs filled the air of a party room in Harlem, the celebration was what mattered, and nights spent in uncertain circumstances were put behind them.
The several dozen attendees at this gathering were all formerly homeless New Yorkers who had lived, or still do, in residences run by the Jericho Project. A nonprofit organization providing supportive housing – which is permanent, affordable housing that includes social services for disabled or needy people – to homeless men and women, Jericho prides itself on both staying true to the mission of providing a dependable home, while also helping to move up to 15 percent of residents into independent life every year, usually including gainful employment.
While the majority of supportive housing programs specifically serve mentally ill adults, Jericho – like a new crop of supportive housing developments – is aimed at those in recovery from substance addictions.
At the Seventh Annual Alumni Dinner Dance, that final step from a life of need into plain old normalcy – adults living on their own, in the company of family or friends of their own choosing, with work and wages and daily pleasures and puzzles – was described as a wondrous thing. And since most of these former residents have histories of substance abuse, enjoying a party where the strongest libations are coffee and tea is its own achievement.
"I'm definitely amazed. There are no words to describe my gratitude," is how Crystal Scott, who lived in Jericho for five years and has been on her own for another five, described the experience of being at the Alhambra Ballroom that night. "I've been through a lot of turmoil and the challenges of life."
Scott, 49, recalled a night years ago when she decided she’d had enough drinking and smoking crack. She left a friend’s house and began an odyssey on foot, going from one program to another, seeking help. Eventually she ended up at the Jericho House in Harlem, which led to her first job. Now she’s been clean for 11 years, works as a medical coordinator at a school for developmentally disabled adults, and is involved in the lives of her five adult children and 15 grandchildren.
Wearing a sparkling tunic, with twists pulled back in a crown, and having already done her part to spark the party by inviting a “shy young man” to dance, Scott said she finds these annual gatherings inspirational.
“It’s good to be mentally, emotionally and spiritually stable, instead of living in fear – and mostly fear of myself. Now I can extend that inner love to others,” she said, with a beatific smile that left no doubt.
Toward independence
The reasons why people become homeless are varied, so the ways to re-house them successfully are too. George Nashak, deputy commissioner for adult services at the city’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS), says the majority of homeless people are suffering traumas of a relatively transitory nature, and can find homes again on their own or with a rental subsidy. For people who are mentally ill, however, or in recovery from addiction, supportive housing is considered one of the best ways to enable them to live more independent, healthy and stable lives. Although Nashak maintains that a year spent in city shelter costs about the same as a year of supportive housing – $24,000 – advocates say supportive housing is far cheaper, almost half the cost. New York City and state are the nation’s biggest investors in developing supportive housing; Mayor Bloomberg and then-Gov. George Pataki signed the “New York/New York III” agreement in 2005 committing to create 9,000 new units in 10 years. (New Jericho projects are among those funded.)
