Born and raised in Queens New York, Mark Stevenson loved music and feeling the pulse of the city.
Traveling with his friends via trains, buses, and by foot, they crafted a unique sound and started a rap group called “Strictly Bizness”, releasing an album in the late 1980’s.
By the early 90’s Mark fell on hard times; not having a stable job and not being able to manage his un-diagnosed schizophrenia he was not able to pay his rent and subsequently lost his apartment 1991.
For 25 years Mark slept in the park and in the streets.
After being engaged by a street outreach team for 8 years due to his resistance to services, in 2016 Mark finally agreed to go to Urban Pathway’s Hegeman site in Brooklyn with the promise of acquiring permanent housing.
In 2017 Mark’s case manager started working on replacing his identification, social security cards, and birth certificate so that he can be referred to housing. After having his documents replaced Mark interviewed for housing in January and was accepted later in the month.
He is currently waiting to move out of Hegeman and into his new apartment in Manhattan.
Learn more about Urban Pathways Moving-On Initiative and help us continue to provide #thewayhome to homeless and at risk New Yorkers.
About Urban Pathways
Urban Pathways is a New York City-based, nonprofit organization that provides housing and support to homeless and at-risk adults throughout the New York Metropolitan area. Urban Pathways serves more than 2,000 homeless individuals a year and provides transitional, extended stay and permanent housing to chronically homeless individuals.
www.urbanpathways.org
