“One way to change your life is about changing someone else’s life.” That’s the advice of Roosevelt Watkins, who provides peer support for people experiencing substance use and homelessness. “You See need, you to get to know need. If you see agencies that are doing good work, don’t just support them with cash. Support them with time.”
Watkins spoke at New Haven Voices, a panel discussion that illuminates the perspectives of community leaders. The event, now in its third year, focused on the structural challenges surrounding homelessness and substance abuse and invited speakers whose life experiences have inspired them to become advocates for change.
Fabrizio Darby, a second-year medical student who began planning the event in May, said he has organized several events in the past, but “this panel was one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had at Yale and ignited my passion for community service.” Darby wanted to “give underserved communities a platform to advocate for themselves. And from a professional perspective, I plan to use that knowledge to provide care in a way that makes people feel heard.”
Marietta Vázquez, MD, associate dean for medical student diversity at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), described the event as an extraordinary learning opportunity for medical trainees who “have tremendous opportunities to protect and support the health of the people around us,” adding, “You don’t come to New Haven just to be a Yale student, you come to Yale and you become a New Haven citizen.”
Vázquez hopes the 100 attendees felt “energized to become active citizens of New Haven, with a better understanding of some of the challenges our neighbors face. I hope those challenges are seen as opportunities to do some good.”
Housing crisis
Panelists Suki Godek, Bridgett Williamson, and Roosevelt Watkins all have experience in the fight against homelessness, either current or past. All three work as advocates and social service providers.
Watkins spoke about his work with U-ACT (Unhoused Activists Community Team): “Any outreach work you do is about meeting people where they are. Unfortunately, we meet people at their worst: homeless. There’s only one way to end homelessness, and that’s to house someone, and we just don’t have the capacity to do that.”
Bridgett Williamson has lived in New Haven for 60 years and described how housing has changed over time. “Thirty years ago, I was able to get temporary housing with three kids and then… get into a complex where I could pay rent. And now I can’t even get into list to get an apartment. Gentrification displaced all the families and people I grew up with. Most of them died from the pain and suffering of that displacement.”
Williamson described a positive transformation in the way Yale researchers interact with the community, “getting out and building relationships…collecting data and then bringing it back to the community.” She works for Yale as a research assistant and says, “I’m a voice for people who don’t have a roof over their heads, to keep hope alive.”
Suki Godek is an active homeless leader and resident of Rosette Neighborhood Village, a “micro-neighborhood” of six small homes located in the backyard of the Amistad Catholic Worker House in New Haven. Godek has been in the public eye for legally challenging the city’s efforts to shut down the village. She commented, “a lot of the laws were created before homelessness became a crisis and a permanent condition.”
Godek got involved because “helping other people in situations like mine gave me a new perspective. I have a husband and a dog, and we’ve really made a home there. It’s not just about giving you a place to live, but giving you the perspective of being a neighbor.”
The panel featured Kelly Fitzgerald, vice president of economic mobility at United Way of Greater New Haven (UWGNH), whose role includes coordinating across agencies and services to make it easier for people to get help. She noted that “working with people, time and time again, those basic needs are not being met. When you don’t have a place to live or food on the table, it’s really hard to strive for something more.”
UWGNH also works with the city to address the economic structures that cause housing instability, such as “when new construction comes in, advocating for very affordable units.” She added: “How can we get that message out? We need to listen to the people who are living it, who are the experts.”
Watkins added, “We live in a capitalist society. They worry about demand, not need. Everyone needs a home, but not everyone can afford one. If you can’t, you’re not part of the demand. I believe housing should be a human right. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, shelter is at the very bottom, not just for those who can afford it.”
Substance abuse
Applying his advocacy work to healthcare, Watkins commented, “Homelessness and substance abuse [are a critical illness]”, but in installments.”
Further describing the connection, Watkins said research shows that most people become addicted only after they become homeless. “A lot of times, drug use is a result of trauma. Becoming homeless is a traumatic event. People self-medicate.”
Williamson described losing many people in her family to drugs, which prompted her to stop using them years ago. “The impossible becomes possible when we talk about self-medication.” She also praised the development of new treatments, such as naloxone (Narcan), that are saving lives.
Williamson directs a community project at Yale University’s Program in Health and Community Health (PRCH), where she has worked since 2007. Her work in citizen-centered care, community organizing, and peer support has influenced the field nationally and internationally. She reflected on her 14 years as a peer mentor. “I can’t save one person,” she said. “I can give them the tools to save themselves.”
Steve Werlin is the executive director of the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK), which operates New Haven’s only low-threshold resource and outreach center for people who are homeless, using drugs, and/or struggling with mental illness. Werlin says he tries to introduce students and others who want to lend a helping hand to the DESK community. He encourages people to get involved first by volunteering to put together kits, listening to community conversations on topics like the opioid crisis, or attending one of DESK’s other public events.
Strengthening the position of individuals
Vázquez later stated that the most important takeaway from the discussions was “the importance of empowering individuals while respecting their self-determination.”
Watkins advised, “I’m not your patient; I’m a person. Treat me like one. My problem with that term is I think of it as an assembly line. You do it the same way every time and you get the same result. And that’s just not true.” Speaking about his outreach work, he added, “The people I work with are not my ‘clients.’ They’re individuals.”
Many of the panelists praised “Dr. Phil” for providing health care to vulnerable people. Phil Costello, APRN, is the clinical director of homeless care at Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center, a community health clinic. For the past decade, a dedicated team of APRNs and social workers has been visiting encampments and shelters. Werlin called them “the heroes of New Haven. The street medicine team is showing us the best health care. They meet people where they are physically and where they are emotionally.”
Panelists described the importance of helping people access health care by building trust over time. Godek described how her first positive experience accessing health services came from a mobile outreach unit. She had just arrived in New Haven and “being in my late 30s and homeless for the first time was unsettling,” so she sought mental health support. “You feel ashamed to reach out for help. Once you overcome those barriers to getting help, you can build a relationship.” Of the street team, she said, “They talked to you like a human being, in a way that you don’t see very often. I often refer people to them for services.”
Watkins added: “When dealing with the authorities, they have power over your body. They can even put you in prison. You have to be vulnerable to say, ‘I’m here, take care of me.'”
Williamson explained: “When we go in, [health care] spaces, that’s not it your space is My space because I am there with you. Give me your undivided attention and let me feel like you’re listening.” She added: “I’d like to see people who look like me and understand where I’m coming from. I’ve been living on the streets since I was 11, and I’m 60. I don’t talk like I’m from the academy; I talk like I’m from the trenches. I spend a lot of time breaking up conversations to be understood, for just a 15-minute visit.”
Godek echoed this. “People are more than just a list of boxes checked on a piece of paper. It’s hard to get to know someone in a few minutes. You never know what kind of day they’re having or what you’re getting yourself into. Treat people with dignity and respect.”
Or as Watkins said, “Don’t make people change so they’ll engage with you. Change so you can engage with them.”
How to help
During the Q&A, a student asked how people like her can help. The panelists responded:
Steve Werlin of DESK: “You should start by asking the person or organization, ‘What do you need?’ not, ‘How can I help?’”
UWGNH’s Kelly Fitzgerald: “You are obliged get involved. There are so many ways to get involved with United Way. Diaper drives. School lunch drives. It doesn’t have to be medical; you have your own passions. The goal is to get out there and meet someone you wouldn’t have met otherwise. Keep trying to figure out how you can understand that, how you can approach people and ultimately how that can improve the care you provide. Commit to doing one thing this year.”
Suki Godek: “Come volunteer at Rosette.”
Roosevelt Watkins of DESK: “The drop-in center is a safe place to interact with people and build relationships. And to learn that anything you do for others is an act of service.”
Get involved
Social organizations that deal with the topics discussed during the panel:
Event organizers
New Haven Voices was organized by YSM sophomores Fabrizio Darby and Joyce Quon; YSM faculty members Carmen Black and Marietta Vázquez; and Aja Diggs and Linda Jackson of the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, Community Engagement, and Equity (DICE). The event was co-hosted by the Offices of Medical Education and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (ODEI).
Photos by Robert A. Lisak
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