NEW YORK – Last week, a Venezuelan asylum seeker committed suicide at a Queens shelter, shortly after authorities impounded the motorcycle he had purchased to make deliveries and generate income.
John Ortega’s partner, traumatized by finding his body in the bathroom, took their 3-year-old daughter and slept in a friend’s room at the shelter.
She says she was later threatened with eviction for violating shelter rules that require her and her daughter to sleep in their assigned room.
“I don’t have the strength to be alone. I can’t,” she told our sister network NBC 4 New York.
“[El personal] She told me I had to go back to the room I was assigned and I said, “No, I can’t sleep alone.” I didn’t want to,” she said.[Dijeron] what if he didn’t come back [a mi habitación]They were about to kick me out of the hostel. I told them: ‘throw me out then, I’m not going to sleep alone’”.
In an interview with NBC 4 on Tuesday afternoon, his widow, Marielys Martínez, recounted her traumatic experience.
Shelters in crisis
Until last Thursday, around 65,000 people were in city shelters, 42% more than in the same period of the previous year.
The city attributes the increase to the influx of immigrants from border states sent here by governors of those states; Homeless advocates say the situation is more complex and includes the impact of rising evictions and pressure on social services.
Mayor Eric Adams has warned that the situation could get significantly worse soon, as the potential expiration of a federal border policy means many more immigrants could end up crossing and eventually being transported here. Some, like Ortega, end up seeing work, in his case buying a motorbike to make deliveries, despite not having a driving licence.
In a statement on Monday, the city’s Department of Human Services called last week’s suicide “an absolutely heartbreaking tragedy” and said it was working with the family.
“These families are arriving in New York City after a harrowing journey of months, in some cases still reeling from the trauma they experienced along the way. We recognize the unique challenges asylum seekers face and remain committed to continuing to develop our continuing efforts and interagency coordination to connect these families and individuals with mental health supports as we help them stabilize their lives in a new country,” the statement read.
A department spokesman said Tuesday the department cannot discuss individual cases and Monday’s statement stands.
Martinez and her daughter are still reeling from the horrific accident. However, Ortega’s widow told NBC 4 that he has never met a social worker in the four months since he arrived in the United States and that the city has not provided the counseling they promised would begin the day after they found the body. by Ortega.
“They told my friend, because I was discouraged [después de encontrar el cuerpo del esposo], that the next day they would look for my daughter to a psychologist. I’m still waiting for you… and the same for me. My brothers-in-law, same thing. We are all waiting,” Martinez said, adding that she feels she needs some professional help.
“I need to talk, get this off my chest. I need to know what he said in the letter he left me,” Martinez said, explaining why he wants therapy.
The traumatic experience also affected Martinez’s young daughter.
‘Last night – I guess his father dreamed – and he told me he was going to die. They will take her by ambulance, but she will die,” Martínez said through tears.
And things aren’t getting better for the others, either: Former city council spokeswoman Christine Quinn, testifying at a council hearing on the mental health crisis on Tuesday, said a resident of one of the shelters she now runs also attempted suicide last week. .
If you or someone you know needs help, contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
