Peter Aronson

Written By Peter Aronson

In the fall of 2022, I was not satisfied writing full-time. I needed more substance, something more fulfilling in my work life. So I decided to find volunteer work that would be meaningful to me. I began doing volunteer blogging for an environmental advocacy group and I also began volunteering at Broadway Community (BC). It took a few months to find the right fit at BC, but I finally got involved as a partner in Panim El Panim (it means Face to Face in Hebrew), a 15-week program for formerly homeless individuals who are working hard to overcome the trauma of being homeless and are striving to rebuild their lives. 

Panim El Panim was established in New York City in 1989 in partnership with New York Catholic Charities and the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing (IAHH). It’s called a life-skills empowerment program and for good reason. In almost 35 years, nearly a dozen programs have been developed based on the Panim model, including programs for homeless veterans, homeless youth, domestic violence survivors and individuals recently released from prison. More than 1,500 individuals have graduated from these programs, often with inspiring results. 

This spring was Broadway Community’s first involvement with the program, as it hosted Panim in partnership with IAHH. 

When I was asked to participate, I was eager to do so. I live in Morningside Heights, in Manhattan, and like everyone else living in New York City, I am a witness to the homeless crisis all around us. When I walk around my neighborhood, or anywhere in the city, I see homeless individuals sleeping on the street, begging on a corner, eating on the sidewalk, or just walking around, some in an agitated or disoriented state. 

My role came into focus quickly. Part of the Panim program involves having the participants tell their life story, as part of the process of coming to terms with their past and moving to a better life. It’s called Speaking Your Truth. Because of my writing background, I was assigned to work with two participants in the program, to help them tell their story, in their words. My role was basically to ask questions, and let the participants do the writing or the talking. 

Within a few weeks, I realized how important this was - not only for them, but also because, I believe, these individual stories needed to be told to a wider audience, as long as the participants agreed. I proposed a book project, a compilation of these stories. This is hardly a novel idea. In fact, Panim spawned “Sacred Shelter - 13 Journeys of Homelessness and Healing,” edited by Susan Celia Greenfield, just four years ago. But I strongly believe that these stories cannot be told too often, because the problem is getting worse. 

There are more homeless individuals in our country today than at any time since the Great Depression, almost 100 years ago. In 2022, the official U.S. count of homeless individuals was 582,462, approximately the population of the state of Wyoming. In New York City, the number of individuals sleeping in shelters approached 75,000 this past winter, including more than 23,000 children. 

Homeless individuals should never be nameless or invisible. Their stories of living without their own home, of their hunger, drug addiction, violence, poverty, broken homes, coupled with society’s racism and discriminatory practices - what I call an avalanche of despair - need to be told, in abundance. Thanks to Isaac Adlerstein, executive director of Broadway Community, and Marc Greenberg, executive director of IAHH, their stories will appear on Broadway Community’s website starting now and hopefully in book form in the future. 

Please read Morgan’s story, and the stories of others to come who have suffered homelessness and the avalanche of despair. Because out of enlightenment and awareness, may we see an everlasting turning of the tide, a societal response from all corners, an acceptance that where there’s a monumental problem, there needs to be a monumental response.

Peter Aronson

In the fall of 2022, I was not satisfied writing full-time. I needed more substance, something more fulfilling in my work life. So I decided to find volunteer work that would be meaningful to me. I began doing volunteer blogging for an environmental advocacy group and I also began volunteering at Broadway Community (BC). It took a few months to find the right fit at BC, but I finally got involved as a partner in Panim El Panim (it means Face to Face in Hebrew), a 15-week program for formerly homeless individuals who are working hard to overcome the trauma of being homeless and are striving to rebuild their lives. 

Panim El Panim was established in New York City in 1989 in partnership with New York Catholic Charities and the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing (IAHH). It’s called a life-skills empowerment program and for good reason. In almost 35 years, nearly a dozen programs have been developed based on the Panim model, including programs for homeless veterans, homeless youth, domestic violence survivors and individuals recently released from prison. More than 1,500 individuals have graduated from these programs, often with inspiring results. 

This spring was Broadway Community’s first involvement with the program, as it hosted Panim in partnership with IAHH. 

When I was asked to participate, I was eager to do so. I live in Morningside Heights, in Manhattan, and like everyone else living in New York City, I am a witness to the homeless crisis all around us. When I walk around my neighborhood, or anywhere in the city, I see homeless individuals sleeping on the street, begging on a corner, eating on the sidewalk, or just walking around, some in an agitated or disoriented state. 

My role came into focus quickly. Part of the Panim program involves having the participants tell their life story, as part of the process of coming to terms with their past and moving to a better life. It’s called Speaking Your Truth. Because of my writing background, I was assigned to work with two participants in the program, to help them tell their story, in their words. My role was basically to ask questions, and let the participants do the writing or the talking. 

Within a few weeks, I realized how important this was - not only for them, but also because, I believe, these individual stories needed to be told to a wider audience, as long as the participants agreed. I proposed a book project, a compilation of these stories. This is hardly a novel idea. In fact, Panim spawned “Sacred Shelter - 13 Journeys of Homelessness and Healing,” edited by Susan Celia Greenfield, just four years ago. But I strongly believe that these stories cannot be told too often, because the problem is getting worse. 

There are more homeless individuals in our country today than at any time since the Great Depression, almost 100 years ago. In 2022, the official U.S. count of homeless individuals was 582,462, approximately the population of the state of Wyoming. In New York City, the number of individuals sleeping in shelters approached 75,000 this past winter, including more than 23,000 children. 

Homeless individuals should never be nameless or invisible. Their stories of living without their own home, of their hunger, drug addiction, violence, poverty, broken homes, coupled with society’s racism and discriminatory practices - what I call an avalanche of despair - need to be told, in abundance. Thanks to Isaac Adlerstein, executive director of Broadway Community, and Marc Greenberg, executive director of IAHH, their stories will appear on Broadway Community’s website starting now and hopefully in book form in the future.

Please the stories of those to come who have suffered homelessness and the avalanche of despair. Because out of enlightenment and awareness, may we see an everlasting turning of the tide, a societal response from all corners, an acceptance that where there’s a monumental problem, there needs to be a monumental response.

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Morgan’s Story