Meet Iusa

Iusa’s Harlem journey began 4 years ago when he stayed with his sister after getting a job as a production company stagehand. But when COVID hit in 2020, his living situation changed.

He explains “I lived in a shelter at 107th street between Amsterdam and Broadway. And that was the first shelter that I ever was evicted from” he laughs. “In fact all of us were evicted. They shut it down…”. Eventually he was moved to a shelter on Ward’s Island.

Looking back at that time he shares, “The people at that shelter were the nicest of my journey. I mean they treated us like humans.” Iusa describes being homeless as one of his greatest fears as he recalls a childhood memory, seeing a man on the street with no shirt or shoes in the cold, “It caught up to me. I wound up in that predicament where I’m homeless, I had to confront my greatest fear. And it was a life changing event.”

“Pay tribute to people who made a difference. They weren’t perfect… perfection is not a part of this world. It shouldn’t even be a part of the vocabulary. You shouldn’t even have a conception of [it].”

But from staying at Ward’s Island came a significant moment. He says, “from Ward’s Island you caught a bus that drops you directly on the corner of 125th and Lexington but on 126th and Lexington there is a NYHRE center, the… New York Harm Reduction and Educators.” Here is where his healing journey reached a crucial point. On the second floor is a holistic center with acupuncture and acupressure where he received treatment that helped him with his mental and physical health. This led to him getting trained in Reiki and continuing to train in Shiatsu. “...The golden pot at the end of my rainbow in Harlem is that NYHRE Center,” the says, making the personal significance of the Center clear.

Coming full circle Iusa says, “Officially the diamond of my Harlem story is being transferred from that shelter to Ward’s Island… and… leaving it a year ago yesterday… I officially got my place a year later.” His story is a testament to his resilience. He stands as a man with immense appreciation for the world around him, nature, and Harlem, acknowledging the significance of the people who came before him and led the way.

To close he imparted words of wisdom for the youth, “pay tribute” to the “giants” who came before us like Marcus Garvey and to take ownership of Harlem, “their ancestors made it”.