Alexander Romano – A handsome 40 year old man with compassionate eyes that tells a story of sadness and hope.
Steve Zakvzewski – Your classmate’s preoccupied, businessman dad always dressed in a nice tucked-in shirt with a brown belt.
KiKi Adebola – Tall African man, with a deep accented voice that accentuates his genuine humor and optimism.
Rich – The quirky guy with flowers on his on his bunk ready to hand it out to the pretty girl that walks by.
Tim – The 18 year Mid-Western kid who looks too young to be anywhere but home.
Each of these men had a story of their own, of days drowned by alcohol, of living and hustling on the streets, of coke filled years. But today, they woke up at 5:30 am, they attend bible classes, counseling sessions, they tended to the house they live in together as a brotherhood. Today they are joined together by the The Bowery Mission.
The Bowery Mission was founded in 1879 in the days when the Bowery had no hint of glamour, where the rent was far from today’s SoHo prices, where most of the “winos” lived on the free streets. Today, The Bowery Mission remains grounded on the old building on 227 Bowery. Like the men living in the house, the building has seen its worst days and has stayed behind to help.
The Bowery Mission provides a mid-way house for the homeless as a place to quit their various addictions and to bring their life back on track. A legacy exists at the Bowery: when a man is saved, he stays to save another by passing on experience and love. “I went from the garbage can to Madison Avenue,” said James Macklin, the Director of Outreach, “My heart is wrapped up in helping people.”
Most of the men not only find a new track in life, they also find religion. “I came to America for the American Dream, I’ve got it, but now I also have the Spiritual Dream,” said KiKi Adebola, who now works as a counselor at The Bowery Mission. Through religion they learn to shift their energies from addictions to something better. Some who are not religious can not understand why religion is enforced and why the men never fail to mention their spiritual growth. But if through religion they gain hope, reason and it keeps them on the right track, then how could it be bad?
I expected to find people in rags, with dirty nails and teeth, speaking in intelligible accents without much content, but I found the exact opposite. I found men with humor and substance, clean and sobered; they had the vibe of young men starting life afresh. They were full of stories and experiences that most of us think we know by watching movies, while they know what it’s really like to be a “hustler in the hood.” Most importantly they were full of lessons, lessons learned the hard way. “If you fall, get back up. Don’t stay,” said Alexander Romano.
