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Man Takes Homeless Vacation to Help Homeless
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 3, 2009
Modified Mar 3, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 3, 2009
Modified Mar 3, 2009
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32-year-old Yusef Ramelize has taken a week's vacation from his job as a production coordinator to dabble in homelessness, as part of an effort to raise awareness and money for homeless shelters and food banks. The experiment started on Sunday night, with Ramelize spending the night in the Union Square subway station, followed by a chair at a McDonald's, before being kicked out for sleeping. According to the Village Voice, he's been staying in touch with the non-homeless (homefull?) community through his iPhone, and friends have been bringing him food at night, though he insists none of the meals are worth more than five dollars. So far he's raised $2,785, but, naturally, one commenter on the Voice website is quick to find fault: "You've got to realize that him taking up a graciously allowed chair at a 24 hour McDonald's denies that chair to someone in need. Sure, maybe the greater good could be served in the long term, but he could be hurting folks in the present. Did he give his apartment over to a homeless person while it was unoccupied for the week?"
Tagged
homeless
week
yusef ramelize
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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