Last week a Venezuelan asylum seeker died by suicide in a Queens shelter, not long after authorities seized the motorcycle he'd bought to make deliveries and earn an income.
John Ortega's partner, traumatized by finding his body in their bathroom, took her 3-year-old daughter and slept in a friend's room at the shelter.
She says she was subsequently threatened with eviction for violating the shelter's rules requiring that she and her daughter sleep in their assigned room.
"I don't have strength to be alone. I can't," she told News 4 New York.
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"[Staff] told me that I have to go back to the room I was assigned and I told them, 'No. I can't sleep by myself.' I didn't want to," she said. "[They said] if I didn't get back [to my room], they were going to kick me out of the shelter. I told them, 'kick me out then, because I am not going to sleep alone.'"
In an interview with News 4 Tuesday afternoon, the widow, Marielys Martinez, recounted her traumatic experience.
Migrant Crisis
Asylum seekers are being sent to New York City with hopes of a new, better life — but finding obstacle after obstacle instead.
Shelters in Crisis
As of last Thursday, nearly 65,000 people were in the city's shelters, 42% more than the same time a year ago.
The city attributes the increase to an influx of migrants from border states sent here by those states' governors; homeless advocates say the situation is more complex and includes the impact of rising evictions and strained social services.
Mayor Eric Adams has warned that the situation could get substantially worse soon, as the possible expiration of a federal border policy means substantially more migrants may end up crossing - and ultimately getting bussed here. Some, like Ortega, end up seeing work - in his case, buying a motorcycle to make deliveries, even though he didn't have an operator's license.
In a statement Monday, the city's Department of Social Services called last week's suicide "an absolutely heart-breaking tragedy" and said it was working with the family.
"These families are coming to New York City after a months-long harrowing journey, in some cases, still reeling from the trauma they experienced along the way. We recognize the very unique challenges asylum seekers are facing and we remain committed to continuing to build on our ongoing efforts and interagency coordination to connect these families and individuals to mental health supports as we help them stabilize their lives in a new country," the statement read.
A department spokesman said Tuesday that the department cannot discuss individual cases, and that Monday's statement still stands.
Martinez and her daughter are still reeling from the horrible incident. However, Ortega's widow told News 4 she never encountered a social worker in the four months since she arrived in the United States, and that the city did not deliver the counseling they promised would begin the day after she found Ortega's body.
"They told my friend, because I was despondent [after finding husband's body], that the next day they were going to get my daughter a psychologist. I am still waiting for them....and the same for me. My brother-in-law, same. We are are all waiting," Martinez said, adding that she feels that she needs professional help.
"I need to talk, vent. I need to know what he said in the letter he left for me," Martinez said, explaining why she wants counseling.
The traumatic experience has also impacted Martinez's young daughter.
"Last night -- I imagine she dreamt of her dad -- and told me that she is going to die. They are going to take her in an ambulance, but that she is going to die," Martinez said through tears.
And the situation isn't improving for others, either - former City Council speaker Christine Quinn, testifying at a Council hearing Tuesday on the mental health crisis, said a resident of one of the shelters she now runs also attempted suicide last week.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
