Post by Ilonggo on Feb 14, 2007 20:59:19 GMT -5
A homeless Filipino in New York
Rodel RodisPhilippine News. Feb 14, 2007
NEW YORK- In the fashionable Tribeca section of Manhattan is an art gallery design studio called Tama Gallery owned by my long-time friends, Craig Scharlin and Lilia Villanueva. As I was about to enter the gallery, a neighbor, actor Vincent D’Onofrio, passed by and greeted Lilia. I was impressed.
“Well, actually,” Lilia smiles, “there are several celebs who live on our street—Gwyneth Paltrow, Edward Albee, Kevin Spacey and that’s just the ones I know about. De Niro’s original TriBeCa penthouse pad is around the corner, across from the famous Nobu restaurant he owns with partners.”
As we left Lilia’s gallery to eat at the Cendrillon, the premier Filipino restaurant in SoHo, Lilia pointed to another resident of Tribeca whom she sees on a regular basis, a Filipino in his 30s who seemed to be putting some clothes on while seated on the curb with his bicycle and few belongings nearby.
“That’s Pedro,” Lilia said. “He’s homeless.”
What? There’s a homeless Filipino in America? It sounded strange. I know, given the fact that there are now 3.5 million Filipinos in America (not 2.4-M which was the estimate 7 years ago in the TNT–excluded 2000 Census), that it would be statistically improbable for there not to be homeless Filipinos among the seemingly millions of homeless people in America.
It’s just that in our Filipino culture, we generally take care of our own. Somehow, there is always some relative or some kababayan out there willing to take care of a Filipino in need of home and shelter.
Lilia narrated that when they first opened their gallery in 2002, Pedro showed up at the doorstep peering inside. Lilia opened the door and immediately smelled the odor of one who had not taken a bath or shower in weeks.
“Are you a Filipino?” he asked. When Lilia nodded, “ako rin” (me too), he said.
Pedro told her he was from Iloilo (his mother’s side) and immigrated to the U.S. when he was nine years old. He still spoke Ilongo which Lilia could speak too as she came from nearby Bacolod. In Ilongo, he would not reveal to Lilia where he slept or cleaned himself (maskin di-in lang da – ‘wherever’) and said getting food is never a problem. Someone once told Lilia that New York’s restaurants are probably the most generous to the homeless and needy in the country so she was not surprised.
Pedro wanted Lilia to be his friend. Lilia was open to it but made it a condition of their friendship that he would not ask her for money. He agreed.
In a later visit, Pedro asked to use Lilia’s phone to call his sister in Texas. Lilia gave him the phone and after he reached his sister, Meldy, he introduced her to Lilia.
Meldy was grateful that Pedro had found a friend, a kababayan in New York. Pedro had one other friend in the City, a Filipino nurse in the Bellevue Hospital where he would often be admitted in the psychiatric ward after being picked up in the streets by the New York Police.
Lilia learned from Meldy that Pedro is a schizophrenic but that he was not always so. Once, she said, he was the brightest and smartest of all of them, the nine siblings who immigrated to the U.S. with their parents in the early 70s. Pedro had been a sous chef with one of the top restaurants in Los Angeles. He was in great shape physically and anything he set his mind to, he could do and do well, she said.
But Pedro’s life changed dramatically when his beloved mother died, Meldy recounted. His personality changed as he began to have hallucinations. He seemed to have withdrawn from society, retreating into an inner shell and he began talking to himself, exhibiting psychotic symptoms.
Pedro’s siblings took turns taking care of him, all over the U.S. Then one day, Pedro disappeared. After a frantic search, they learned that he had made his way to New York, and had become one of the City’s homeless denizens.
Schizophrenia is a severely disabling brain disease affecting approximately 1 percent of the U.S. population, causing people to suffer horrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices, or believing that others are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. These symptoms may leave them fearful and withdrawn. Their speech and behavior can be so disorganized that they may be incomprehensible or frightening to others.
A large number of America’s homeless suffer from schizophrenia, leaving them unable to work and maintain normal lives. In the 50s and 60s, many of them were placed in mental hospitals operated by the states. That changed in the early 70s when California Gov. Ronald Reagan eliminated state funding for the mentally disabled forcing many mental hospitals to shut down and release their patients to live on their own. Other states soon followed California and the homeless crisis in America was in full bloom.
Lilia recounted that one day she received a call from Meldy asking her to pass on to Pedro that their Uncle Joseling died, without any children, leaving his property in Iloilo to Pedro and his siblings. The brothers and sister, Meldy told Lilia, had agreed they would give the property for Pedro to use. They wanted Pedro to go back to Iloilo and live in their uncle house and be cared for by maids and live off the money the siblings would provide.
Lilia was tasked with relaying this message to Pedro but she was not quite sure how to convince Pedro to accept the gift. She would try her best as she was convinced this would be best for Pedro.
The next day when Pedro showed up at the gallery, Lilia was all smiles and excited to tell him the good news. She told Pedro what his siblings had decided. They were all willing to give him their share of the inheritance because they all love him and care for his welfare.
“This would solve all your problems, Pedro. You wouldn’t have to worry about a place o sleep, or what to eat. You wouldn’t have to fear police officers or thugs. You could get all the medical treatment you need to get better.” Lilia explained.
Pedro listened intently. At the end of Lilia’s pitch, Pedro said “no”. “What will I do in Iloilo? No way!” he said. The voices inside of Pedro’s head rejected the idea of leaving the dangerous but familiar streets of New York to the safe, secure but unfamiliar life in Iloilo.
Pedro would not allow Lilia to change his mind. He was adamant that he would not leave the streets of New York.
When you go to Tribeca (the TRIangle BElow CAnal) in New York, say hi to DeNiro, Gwyneth , Chris, Spacy, D’Onofrio, and to Pedro.
Send comments to Rodel50@aol.com.
Rodel RodisPhilippine News. Feb 14, 2007
NEW YORK- In the fashionable Tribeca section of Manhattan is an art gallery design studio called Tama Gallery owned by my long-time friends, Craig Scharlin and Lilia Villanueva. As I was about to enter the gallery, a neighbor, actor Vincent D’Onofrio, passed by and greeted Lilia. I was impressed.
“Well, actually,” Lilia smiles, “there are several celebs who live on our street—Gwyneth Paltrow, Edward Albee, Kevin Spacey and that’s just the ones I know about. De Niro’s original TriBeCa penthouse pad is around the corner, across from the famous Nobu restaurant he owns with partners.”
As we left Lilia’s gallery to eat at the Cendrillon, the premier Filipino restaurant in SoHo, Lilia pointed to another resident of Tribeca whom she sees on a regular basis, a Filipino in his 30s who seemed to be putting some clothes on while seated on the curb with his bicycle and few belongings nearby.
“That’s Pedro,” Lilia said. “He’s homeless.”
What? There’s a homeless Filipino in America? It sounded strange. I know, given the fact that there are now 3.5 million Filipinos in America (not 2.4-M which was the estimate 7 years ago in the TNT–excluded 2000 Census), that it would be statistically improbable for there not to be homeless Filipinos among the seemingly millions of homeless people in America.
It’s just that in our Filipino culture, we generally take care of our own. Somehow, there is always some relative or some kababayan out there willing to take care of a Filipino in need of home and shelter.
Lilia narrated that when they first opened their gallery in 2002, Pedro showed up at the doorstep peering inside. Lilia opened the door and immediately smelled the odor of one who had not taken a bath or shower in weeks.
“Are you a Filipino?” he asked. When Lilia nodded, “ako rin” (me too), he said.
Pedro told her he was from Iloilo (his mother’s side) and immigrated to the U.S. when he was nine years old. He still spoke Ilongo which Lilia could speak too as she came from nearby Bacolod. In Ilongo, he would not reveal to Lilia where he slept or cleaned himself (maskin di-in lang da – ‘wherever’) and said getting food is never a problem. Someone once told Lilia that New York’s restaurants are probably the most generous to the homeless and needy in the country so she was not surprised.
Pedro wanted Lilia to be his friend. Lilia was open to it but made it a condition of their friendship that he would not ask her for money. He agreed.
In a later visit, Pedro asked to use Lilia’s phone to call his sister in Texas. Lilia gave him the phone and after he reached his sister, Meldy, he introduced her to Lilia.
Meldy was grateful that Pedro had found a friend, a kababayan in New York. Pedro had one other friend in the City, a Filipino nurse in the Bellevue Hospital where he would often be admitted in the psychiatric ward after being picked up in the streets by the New York Police.
Lilia learned from Meldy that Pedro is a schizophrenic but that he was not always so. Once, she said, he was the brightest and smartest of all of them, the nine siblings who immigrated to the U.S. with their parents in the early 70s. Pedro had been a sous chef with one of the top restaurants in Los Angeles. He was in great shape physically and anything he set his mind to, he could do and do well, she said.
But Pedro’s life changed dramatically when his beloved mother died, Meldy recounted. His personality changed as he began to have hallucinations. He seemed to have withdrawn from society, retreating into an inner shell and he began talking to himself, exhibiting psychotic symptoms.
Pedro’s siblings took turns taking care of him, all over the U.S. Then one day, Pedro disappeared. After a frantic search, they learned that he had made his way to New York, and had become one of the City’s homeless denizens.
Schizophrenia is a severely disabling brain disease affecting approximately 1 percent of the U.S. population, causing people to suffer horrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices, or believing that others are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. These symptoms may leave them fearful and withdrawn. Their speech and behavior can be so disorganized that they may be incomprehensible or frightening to others.
A large number of America’s homeless suffer from schizophrenia, leaving them unable to work and maintain normal lives. In the 50s and 60s, many of them were placed in mental hospitals operated by the states. That changed in the early 70s when California Gov. Ronald Reagan eliminated state funding for the mentally disabled forcing many mental hospitals to shut down and release their patients to live on their own. Other states soon followed California and the homeless crisis in America was in full bloom.
Lilia recounted that one day she received a call from Meldy asking her to pass on to Pedro that their Uncle Joseling died, without any children, leaving his property in Iloilo to Pedro and his siblings. The brothers and sister, Meldy told Lilia, had agreed they would give the property for Pedro to use. They wanted Pedro to go back to Iloilo and live in their uncle house and be cared for by maids and live off the money the siblings would provide.
Lilia was tasked with relaying this message to Pedro but she was not quite sure how to convince Pedro to accept the gift. She would try her best as she was convinced this would be best for Pedro.
The next day when Pedro showed up at the gallery, Lilia was all smiles and excited to tell him the good news. She told Pedro what his siblings had decided. They were all willing to give him their share of the inheritance because they all love him and care for his welfare.
“This would solve all your problems, Pedro. You wouldn’t have to worry about a place o sleep, or what to eat. You wouldn’t have to fear police officers or thugs. You could get all the medical treatment you need to get better.” Lilia explained.
Pedro listened intently. At the end of Lilia’s pitch, Pedro said “no”. “What will I do in Iloilo? No way!” he said. The voices inside of Pedro’s head rejected the idea of leaving the dangerous but familiar streets of New York to the safe, secure but unfamiliar life in Iloilo.
Pedro would not allow Lilia to change his mind. He was adamant that he would not leave the streets of New York.
When you go to Tribeca (the TRIangle BElow CAnal) in New York, say hi to DeNiro, Gwyneth , Chris, Spacy, D’Onofrio, and to Pedro.
Send comments to Rodel50@aol.com.