16 OCTOBER 19, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Maspeth resident pens book on city’s homeless crisis
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
One Maspeth resident is looking
to get to the root of the city’s
growing homelessness crisis,
which sees nearly 60,000 people
sleeping on the streets each night, and
dispel some of the myths surrounding
homelessness through her new book
“Our Invisible Neighbors.”
Crystal Wolfe, founder of the
Catering for the Homeless nonproft
organization which connects catering
companies and restaurants with organizations
that give out their excess
food to the homeless and communities
in need, wrote her book as a way to
tell not only her personal story, but
the stories of others who are or have
been homeless, and provide input on
how to solve the homelessness crisis.
Throughout the book, Wolfe delves
into the causes of homelessness, including
not only the well-known factors
of drug abuse and mental illness,
but also some causes that many people
might not consider such as domestic
abuse, natural disasters, skyrocketing
medical bills and more.
Wolfe spoke to over 100 organizations
and cites nearly 200 sources in
“Our Invisible Neighbors,” including
Community Board 5 (CB 5) and their
Homeless Subcommittee, which
helped her come up with some of the
book’s solutions to the homelessness
problem.
She also took a look at the Housing
First program which has been used
in many countries around the world,
including the U.S., to stem the tide of
homelessness.
Wolfe took things to a more local
level in speaking with Assemblyman
Andrew Hevesi and his Home Stability
Support (HSS) program as a way of
preventing people from being homeless
before they are on the streets.
“I want to emphasize that Andrew
Hevesi’s Home Stability Support (HSS)
is an even better plan than Housing
First — it is the fi rst comprehensive
plan to prevent homelessness and my
interview with him on his plan is in
Chapter 23 of this book,” Wolfe said.
“HSS will be voted in January of 2018,
and the community and government
support is crucial for him. His plan
will prevent homelessness for NYC
and throughout the state of N.Y., and
even if New York does not vote in
favor of his plan next year, it could
be used as Housing First was used, to
end homelessness in other states and
countries.”
“Our Invisible Neighbors” aims to
help local residents better understand
homeless, therefore allowing them
to better assist the homeless, Wolfe
contends, by debunking many of the
myths surrounding homelessness, like
the fact that 70 percent of the homeless
in NYC are families, and nearly 44 percent
of the homeless across America
actually have jobs.
“I also think this book would help
anyone who reads it to understand
homelessness better through the personal
accounts of the book, from those
who have been or currently are homeless,
and the chapters on the myths
and causes of homelessness,” Wolfe
said. “I think one of those myths it is
important for the local neighborhood
to understand is that having homeless
housed actually improves property
taxes. I’ve heard examples for this
even in NYC, but I used an example of
the neighboring city of Philadelphia.”
However, the best way for people
to help the homeless, Wolfe said, is to
actually get involved.
Besides her Catering for the Homeless
operation, Wolfe is preparing to
host a toiletry drive for the homeless
with St. Sebastian’s Church in Woodside.
The drive will be held on Nov. 10
and 11, with donations being accepted
at St. Sebastian’s Academy, located at
39-76 58th St., from 7 to 9 p.m. on Nov.
10, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 11.
“We need donations, volunteers to
assort the items, and people who can
drive the donations to the homeless
shelters and church pantries,” Wolfe
added.
“Our Invisible Neighbors” is now
available at major and independent
bookstores, and online on Amazon
and Kindle, online bookstores.
Photo courtesy of Crystal Wolfe
Crystal Wolfe is continuing to peel back the misconceptions on homelessness
with her new book "Our Invisible Neighbors."
Queensboro UNICO celebrates Italian heritage
As the largest
Italian American
Service Organization
in the United States,
members of Queensboro
UNICO celebrated Italian
heritage at the 2017 Columbus
Day Parade, on
Monday, Oct. 9.
Queensboro UNICO is
comprised of individuals
of Italian ancestry who
are committed to providing
a better quality
of life for those in need
on both a community
and national level. The
chapter is dedicated to
preserving Italian Heritage
through various
cultural programs.
Photos courtesy of Queensboro UNICO
