A female asylum seeker killed herself inside a New York City shelter on Sept. 18, the mayor’s office confirmed Monday.
The woman took her own life inside a shelter amid what is swiftly becoming an overwhelming humanitarian crisis that the city is struggling to handle. While the exact details surrounding the death or the individual involved has yet to be released, Mayor Eric Adams is calling the loss of life a tragedy.
“The thousands of asylum seekers we have seen arrive in our city came to this country seeking a better life. Sadly though, yesterday, an asylum seeker in one of our facilities took her own life. Our hearts break for this young woman and any loved ones she may have, and we, as a city mourn her. This tragedy is a reminder that we have an obligation to do everything in our power to help those in need,” the mayor said in a statement.
The mayor urged any asylum seekers suffering mental health issues to seek aid from the city immediately: “Among other services available at the Asylum Seeker Resource Navigation Center is mental health care. I encourage all asylum seekers who need mental health support to utilize these services, and anyone in our city struggling with anxiety, depression, or mental health challenges of any kind to call 888-NYC-WELL. We are here for you.”
This death comes during a particularly turbulent time for the city as only last week a slew of migrants were turned away from the shelter system due to a lack of room, forcing them to sleep on the streets before agencies swiftly housed them in hotels across the five boroughs, according to a source close to the situation.
Migrants undergo grueling journeys rife with death and extreme hunger on their pilgrimage to the United States, only for many of them to say themselves they are harshly mistreated upon arrival in states like Texas or Florida, where governors are not very welcoming of newcomers from south of the border.
Veronica, a pregnant migrant spoke out in the Bronx with the South Bronx Mutual Aid last month that from the Texas border at the ICE Facility to the bus from Port Authority and even when arriving at the New York City shelters she was not given food–and if any were provided it was simply water and apples.
“I arrived at the shelter and spent another two days without food without eating them. There’s no food, there’s no help…After several days I saw nobody was going to help me. So, I called someone outside of the shelter so that I could eat, so I could see the doctor to see my child,” Veronica said, overcome with emotion she cried, “Immigrants live very difficult things. I was terrified I was going to lose my child for everything that we endure,” Veronica said.
Manuel, another asylum seeker, shared his horrors traversing from Venezuela to Texas, and to his shock and dismay, even more trauma within the New York City shelter system, particularly the Bedford Men’s shelter.
“My arrival was very gruesome, the people treated us very badly. I understand that coming that way [over the border] we are violating laws, but I also understand that there’s a difference between committing a crime and coming here as a migrant,” Manuel began, “First I want to say that coming into these places we are treated like criminals, and like delinquents like people who have done wrong. They make us, they put bracelets on us. In my opinion, I feel like we are treated like animals.”
During a press conference in Brooklyn, Mayor Adams defended the way in which the city is handling the overwhelming influx of humanity, refusing to admit to failing the woman. Instead, Adams pointed the finger of blame Southward, to Governor Abbott who has been mercilessly shipping humans across the country like cattle.
“It just always amazes me that whenever tragedy happened, we start with the failure of the heartbroken people who have housing over 11,000 people notice wasn’t a failure. No. No one was, I believe was traumatized by this old experience. And this is not a failure of those men and women though city employees who have stayed up late at nights been at the bus station feeding navigating,” Adams said. “No, it’s not a failure of city employees are not failures. They are heartbroken civil servants. And we should start the question off with is this a failure? Is this a failure? No. No, the trauma we can failure was the governor’s that set people on a multi day bus ride without proper food without medical care without the basic necessities telling them they had to be treated in a way that’s the failure. And we didn’t fail in the city. The city is helping people. And again, my heart goes out to that family. And we’re going to continue to provide a mental health care for those who are in need.”
Following news of the death, elected officials and advocates unleashed an outpouring of sadness and condemnation for New York’s already infamous shelter system that already had a bad reputation before Abbott began his cold-hearted influx.
“I’m not surprised this can happen in our system when the shelter staff ignore protocols that keep us safe and we die as a result,” Douglas Powell said, a leader with VOCAL-NY’s Homelessness Union who is currently living in a shelter. “Shelters are overcrowded because the city is not helping people get housed with their vouchers.”
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams also joined the chorus of voices singing sorrow for the woman who traveled so far only to lose her life in the city. Williams called for support systems inside shelters to address mental health issues.
“This death is tragic. A young woman who came to this country seeking support has become a casualty of cruelty and political schemes by leaders placing a higher value on fundraising tactics than families in need. We need to expand systems of support in New York City for people seeking asylum, and we need politicians to stop treating people as pawns– with dangerous, now deadly, consequences,” Williams said in a statement.
