Donald Johnson, a formerly homeless man, helps others rescue their belongings before they are swept away.
Photo by Dean Moses
A formerly homeless man now spends his free time helping other unhoused individuals in the Lower East Side save their meager belongings from city agencies looking to put them on the trash pile.
Donald Johnson, who spent about six months living on the streets of the Bowery, has worked with homeless people impacted by the numerous sweeps of sidewalk encampments by a coalition of agencies including the NYPD, the Sanitation Department, and the Departments of Social Services and Homeless Services.
When the sweeps began in 2022 at Mayor Eric Adams’ direction, the intent was to connect encampment residents to vital services to rebuild their lives, while getting the blighted camps off the streets. But according to Johnson, the sweeps serve as constant traumatic shadow that hangs over all who are experiencing street homelessness due to the threat of not only removal, but also having their belongings forcibly taken.
Those who have experienced these sweeps firsthand, Johnson noted, have become nomads within the city — altering even their own sleeping habits in order to ensure they’re not caught in a sweep while slumbering.
“They can’t even sleep because if they go to sleep they will have to move, so they don’t even go to sleep until like one o’clock in the afternoon,” Johnson said.
Johnson told amNewYork Metro that he knows the emotional stress of living on the street and now looks to aid those still left to languish there, understanding that some handle the trauma better than others.
“I met a lot of these people, I see their problems and they just don’t cope like I cope, so I try to help them out,” Johnson said.
In an effort to prevent any loss of belongings, including essential items such as identification cards, Johnson says many of the homeless individuals living in the Lower East Side are forced to constantly…
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