Jamie

Jamie smiles broadly as he describes his childhood in St. Lucy, Barbados. Part of a close-knit family, he was a good student and loved cricket and swimming in the sea. His mother moved the family to New York when he was 14. The change meant long hours at work for her and new pressures on Jamie, as he tried to attend school, cook meals and care for his younger brother. After two years, he dropped out of school and got caught up in the world of drugs.

Over the next few years, Jamie struggled with the symptoms of mental illness; he started hearing voices and grappled with feelings of paranoia. He tried to deny these feelings, in hopes of holding down jobs and earning a GED. But his behavior became more erratic and aggressive. He soon found himself hospitalized; he was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. His mother felt overwhelmed and incapable of caring for him. Jamie became homeless, cycling through streets, shelters and hospitals.

His life turned around in 2004, when he moved from a shelter into Institute for Community Living’s Myrtle and Lewis Residence. Jamie kept to himself at first as he struggled to accept his illness. But bit by bit, with the help of Director Eleanor Lalor, residence staff and fellow tenants, he started to open up. Jamie enrolled in support groups and rehabilitation training and identified clear life goals: to stay clean and sober, stay out of the hospital and move into supported housing.

Within three years, Jamie achieved these goals and then some. He’s remained drug-free and out of the hospital. He’s found work at a store downtown while attending college part-time. He’s also moved out of Myrtle and Lewis and into his very own apartment. You can immediately tell the new place belongs to Jamie -- visiting it is like a trip to the Caribbean: bright and cheerful décor, a fish tank with exotic fish and Bob Marley playing on the speakers.

After years of struggle, Jamie has finally found stability and peace in New York. For his story, the Network honored Jamie in 2007 with its Tenant of the Year award.

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