TESTIMONY
Ibrahim Javier Johnson, Veteran, on His Experience at the Bellevue Homeless Shelter and Support for Proposed Legislation
2:25:51
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130 sec
Ibrahim Javier Johnson, a veteran who occasionally experiences homelessness, shares his positive experience at the Bellevue homeless shelter, where he was treated well as a single man. However, he recounts an incident where a Burkina Faso family faced difficulties due to language barriers and lack of proper assistance from staff.
- Johnson praises the shelter's handling of single men like himself and others such as recently released prisoners and those with medical needs.
- He criticizes the treatment of the Burkina Faso family, who were given incorrect information about getting their documents translated at the embassy in Washington D.C. instead of the local consulate.
- Johnson believes the system works well overall but could be improved for non-English speaking families seeking shelter.
Ibrahim Javier Johnson
2:25:51
My name is Ibrahim Javier Johnson.
2:25:53
I'd like to thank Ciela Ayala I do support the legislation that has proposed.
2:25:59
I just wanna share briefly my experience at the homeless shelter.
2:26:03
I was sent to Bellevue shelter by the VA.
2:26:06
I am a veteran.
2:26:07
And occasionally, I do have issues with homelessness from time to time, and the VA always sends us to the shelter in New York.
2:26:15
That's how they do it here.
2:26:17
I went to Bellevue Shelter.
2:26:18
I was well received.
2:26:20
I was impressed.
2:26:21
That was the first time at particular shelter.
2:26:23
I was impressed at the way the staff handled the single men.
2:26:28
However, there was a African family that came there a father with two sons, 15 16.
2:26:35
He was given the runaround because he had documents in French.
2:26:39
He was from Burkina Faso, who speaks French.
2:26:42
And I live in Harlem.
2:26:43
There's a lot of people from that country.
2:26:45
I would've just sent them to the mosque.
2:26:46
They would've helped them faster, but the worker sent him back to the embassy.
2:26:53
And by the way, the embassy is in Washington DC.
2:26:55
She really meant the consulate.
2:26:57
There's a consulate in New York.
2:26:59
The embassies are in Washington.
2:27:00
He was a little bit confused, but she told him he had to have his birth certificates translated by the Burkina Faso consulate.
2:27:09
Now this is 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and he's walking around with 2 teenage boys homeless that that that were sent to the men's shelter.
2:27:18
Now apart from that, I watched him process a person fresh out of prison.
2:27:23
He was processed quickly.
2:27:26
I was taken care of.
2:27:27
I was a veteran.
2:27:28
They had a veteran from Florida.
2:27:29
Came in off the bus from Florida.
2:27:32
First day in New York, they sent him right to the shelter.
2:27:34
He was okay.
2:27:36
They process a person who had medical difficulties.
2:27:41
They helped them.
2:27:41
They fed us.
2:27:43
They took care of us.
2:27:44
I felt safe.
2:27:45
And, unfortunately, a family member found out I was in a homeless shelter in New York City They sent me a bus ticket to DC.
2:27:51
They said, get out of there.
2:27:53
But, unfortunately, I was able to solve my problem.
2:27:55
And just to wrap up, I THINK THE SYSTEM WORKS Well, BUT IT COULD WORK BETTER FOR FAMILIES.
