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Picture The Homeless Picture The Homeless
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Our Members

We always say, homeless people are the real experts on homelessness. And PTH would be nothing without the power, strength, wisdom, courage and experience of our members.

Anyone who is currently or formerly homeless can become a member of Picture the Homeless. Our members make the majority of the decisions that shape our work, through collective collaborative campaign planning and development at weekly meetings. Members are the only ones who can speak on behalf of the organization to the media, and make up a majority of spots on our board of directors.

Here are just a few of the dynamic men and women who make up our organization!

Marcus Moore

Marcus Moore

I was born in Brooklyn but raised in Bergen County New Jersey. When I moved back to NYC I got a job working security. I was staying with someone, but...
Leroy Parker

Leroy Parker

“Even before I was in the shelter system, I always noticed how many abandoned buildings there were. I didn’t understand how there were so many people sleeping on the streets...
Jarquay Abdullah

Jarquay Abdullah

“There are so many vacant properties and vacant lots in New York City, that there should not be so many of us sitting in shelters. Instead, money should be put...
Cecelia Grant

Cecelia Grant

“Donald Trump has opened a Pandora’s box of evil. We the people have to stand together against their agenda of separation. The government doesn’t change things. The people change things....
Jesus Morales

Jesus Morales

“I have a job, but after I finish work, I’m still on the street. And the cops are treating homeless people like dirt, every day. They assaulted me and my friends...
Rosa Custodio

Rosa Custodio

“This city needs a better plan. Vacant buildings and lots like this one should not be made into more ‘affordable housing’ that’s not affordable. Put it into a community land...
Ms. K. Samuels

Ms. K. Samuels

“This mayor only talks to people who will go along with whatever he says. He might have some homeless advocacy groups that he tells to get in line behind this...
Jose Rodriguez

Jose Rodriguez

“How can this administration create a “plan” to deal with homelessness – but not go into the homeless community to get feedback? They continue to throw wood on the fire–and...
Hugh Pressley

Hugh Pressley

“If they can put somebody on the moon, I’m pretty sure they can solve this homeless situation if they really wanted to. The Department of Homeless Services’ is getting over...
Jimmy Pizarro

Jimmy Pizarro

“My name is Jim Pizarro and I’ve been a member of Picture the Homeless for a month. I’m here because PTH fights for housing. The city is full of vacant...
“Country”

“Country”

“Every homeless person I know wants housing. Everybody wants help. We’re trying to better our situations, but they’ve got us jumping through so many hoops that people get frustrated. I...
James Doctor – Maintenance Man

James Doctor – Maintenance Man

“Doc” says: I was born and raised in Jersey City, but I’ve been in New York since 1983. I’m a person that’s very passionate about the work that we do...
Fabian Cancel

Fabian Cancel

“We’re fighting to have something of our own. Something we can share. That’s why I’m here. There’s a lot of buildings being built, but for who? The city subsidizes housing...
Jazmin Berges

Jazmin Berges

“Picture the Homeless has given me a voice. Given me the power to do something. I’m not homeless here. I’m just Jazmin. No one treats me like a bad person...
Mrs. Chula Murphy

Mrs. Chula Murphy

“I’m here because my civil rights were violated many times, on the street and in the shelter, and I need to come together and work with others to fight for...
Andres Perez

Andres Perez

“The stability and support I got from my Picture the Homeless family was so helpful for me getting my son and I out of homelessness – and I want to...
Arvernetta Henry

Arvernetta Henry

“Lots of people don’t qualify for supportive housing. If you are on a fixed income, don’t have a mental illness or a substance abuse problem, you still need a place...
Ousmane Drame

Ousmane Drame

“I am a construction worker, originally from West Africa. Right now I’m homeless, and have been for a while. I’m really not a shelter person, because of many reasons. Right...
Ms. Lewis

Ms. Lewis

“If Mayor de Blasio wants to learn from the City’s mistakes, he should ask homeless families and individuals what they need. My situation doesn’t apply for the current programs he’s...
Charmel Lucas

Charmel Lucas

Charmel Lucas was born in East Harlem and is a mother of five. She was married 22 years and is now a widow. She worked for the Board of Education...
Al Williams

Al Williams

“This administration would rather sell its vacant properties to private developers than house this city’s homeless population. Our protest is a warning shot to the de Blasio administration to signify...
Rogers

Rogers

“Poor people instinctively know that we need truly-affordable housing and stable jobs. Developers, builders, and speculators see vacant spaces as future wealth. That future wealth does us no good now,...
Danielle Stelluto

Danielle Stelluto

“I am a woman, daughter, mother, and friend. I am a full-time student at Hostos College, teaching my kids and the youth knowledge. Hard worker, activist, writer, and public speaker....
Sean Lance

Sean Lance

“After serving time in the federal pen, I was released to the street with no plan of how to survive. I was released to nothing, with nothing. I have been...
Jean Rice

Jean Rice

Jean was born on July 1st, 1939 in Anderson, South Carolina and was educated in the New York City Public School System. From 1979 through 1981 Jean attended Norwalk Community...
Ryan Gibbs

Ryan Gibbs

Ryan joined the PTH board in January 2011, but has been a leader and full time volunteer at PTH since March of 2006, less than a year after he first...
William S. Burnett

William S. Burnett

William is a Roman Catholic and a lifelong activist and organizer. He studied philosophy and theology at Wadhams Hall Seminary-College.  William has been a leader of Picture the Homeless since...
Rachel Brumfield

Rachel Brumfield

Rachel joined Picture the Homeless in 2004, after her daughter Marco became a leader of our Housing Campaign. She brings direct experience not only of homelessness, but also of political...
Darlene Bryant

Darlene Bryant

"I tell people, if you're tired of talking about the problem and ready to do something about it, PTH is the place to be."
Alethea Smalls

Alethea Smalls

"For people who have never dealt with homelessness, the most important thing to know is that we are proud people too. We have morale, we have lives. We have goals."

“Our demonstrations are in the spirit of the sit-ins from the Civil Rights Movement. But despite all the progress that was made in that era, the atrocities facing people of color today are even more extreme—you have tens of thousands of people living in shelters here in NYC, and 90% of them are African-American or Latino! Are they trying to run us out of New York?”

Roosevelt Orphee
PTH Member

“We keep on saying this is a loving country, we care about people, it’s the land of milk and honey, land of the free—yet you got people living on the streets, sleeping in the shadows of these empty buildings.”

Richard Corley
PTH Member

“Police officers regularly shout into the faces of the homeless while prodding them to wake up and wake them nearly every hour so that they cannot sleep.  Some even make exultant ‘woo-hoo’ cries or bang their batons loudly and rhythmically as if on exuberant drums or speed up their carts ostentatiously while calling out ‘wakey! wakey!’ as they rush past the sleeping bodies of exhausted homeless people.”

Joan Harrison
PTH Member

“The city should not be involved in creating homelessness. The city is paying contractors exorbitant amounts to maintain unstable housing for New York City residents. By not providing adequate help with evictions and not building income-targeted housing for neighborhoods, the people who helped create this city are becoming homeless.”

Ms. K. Samuels
PTH Member
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