DePaulia
The
Volume #108 | Issue #7 | Oct. 23, 2023 | depauliaonline.com
CHICAGO
NEW YORK CITY AP PHOTO/JOHN MINCHILLO
AP PHOTO/ERIN HOOLEY
FILE - Migrants sit in a queue outside The Roosevelt Hotel that is being used by the city as temporary housing, July 31, 2023, in New York.
Run by a private firm hired by the city, migrants stay in a makeshift shelter at O’Hare International Airport, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Chicago.
NYC, Chicago migrant responses compared By Lucia Preziosi News Editor
As two of America’s largest cities take in vast numbers of newly arrived migrants every day, Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson and New York City mayor Eric Adams are taking different approaches to address the crisis. Since spring 2022, New York has seen the arrival of more than 188,000 migrants and asylum-seekers, with that number growing by the hundreds daily. More than 18,500 migrants have arrived in Chicago since Aug. 2022. Adams expressed the exasperation New York is facing, asserting in a Sept. 7 town hall meeting that he sees no end to this crisis. As New York officials
attempt to find housing for migrant families, Adams said he fears “this issue will destroy New York City.” A condition unique to New York City is the long-standing “right to shelter agreement,” which requires the City to guarantee temporary housing for every person facing homelessness. Similar to New York’s right to shelter, Chicago is a self-proclaimed sanctuary city, pledging to protect immigrants from federal agents. Supported by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Adams drew back on this decades-long policy as the city struggles to house migrant families. Adams announced a 60-day
limit for families living in shelters on Monday, Oct. 16, calling upon them to return to an intake center and reapply for shelter every two months. In an interview with New York’s WABC radio, Adams said the right to shelter does not apply to a migrant crisis.
New York versus Chicago: the language of support
Adams’ language and characterization of migrants is controversial and differs from Johnson’s approach in Chicago, according to Kathleen Arnold, the director of the Refugee and Forced Migration program at DePaul. “What Adams is saying is completely problematic because obviously he keeps using the
words ‘burden’ and saying this is an emergency, and Johnson hasn’t used that language,” Arnold said. Johnson utilizes building coalitions and working with communities, differing from Adams’s approach, said Shailja Sharma, a professor and chair of International Studies at DePaul. “I think the attitude of Brandon Johnson and his cabinet is very open to building coalitions and providing help – that’s a positive,” Sharma said. “What I’ve heard about New York is that’s not true.” Adams’ choice of language, identifying migrants as a burden to the city, could also pose a direct threat to migrants, according to Arnold. “Rhetorically, I would imagine in New York, people perceive
it as a green light to be prejudicial or discriminatory to Venezuelans, whereas Brandon Johnson has not done that and I think that’s valuable,” Arnold said.
Chicago’s Approach
High numbers of migrants arriving in Chicago has led Brandon Johnson to appoint Beatriz Ponce de León as deputy mayor of immigrant, migrant and refugee rights in July 2023. “She has been going to different organizations and also came to DePaul to find out what DePaul could do to help and find out how they can collaborate with us,” Sharma said.
MIGRANTS, page 5
‘Coffee, Hip-Hop, & Mental Health’ finds new ways to normalize therapy OPINION: By Eli Smith Contributing Writer
SOFY MYERS | THE DEPAULIA
Nick Henderson performs at Coffee Hip Hop and Mental Health’s concert fundraiser.
Christopher LeMark stood on stage in front of a full crowd at The Promontory the night of Oct. 11 and led the room through a simple call and response: “The city … of Chicago … will heal.” LeMark is the founder of Coffee, Hip-Hop & Mental Health, an organization located in Lakeview that is working to make talk therapy more accessible, particularly for Black communities. He began going to therapy himself in 2018 following what he describes as a “mental and emotional breakdown” at a coffee shop. LeMark went to the coffee shop on his break from work because he couldn’t afford lunch. “Because of the way I grew up, it sent me down a path of living
in poverty and survival by any means, so [I was] working a deadend sales job,” he said. LeMark said that he felt like a failure as a hip-hop artist, a career he has pursued since 1998, and that he felt disappointed about his life. Through therapy, LeMark said he is working through his traumas, like childhood abuse, abandonment and sporadic homelessness. His personal growth motivated him to help others get the same opportunity to heal. So he decided to use his experiences as a musician to spark conversations about his newfound passion: mental health. “I know what it’s like getting up every day [wondering], ‘how am I going to get through the day?’” LeMark said. “So we approach [therapy] from an em-
powerment standpoint.” The organization’s free therapy program currently provides 250 individuals a year with five months of free therapy. They fund the program with events like the recent concert at The Promontory and through sales of drinks and merchandise at the Coffee, HipHop & Mental Health cafe. However, LeMark said there is more to making therapy accessible than overcoming the costs. “The barriers are not just financial,” LeMark said. “There’s shame, there’s embarrassment. … It’s our own self-bias.” These barriers are very real systemic issues for Black people seeking mental health treatment. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Ad-
COFFEE, page 12
My underwear doesn’t serve me By Molly Tinkey Contributing Writer
My backpack is on. I tie my shoes using the bunny ear method. I do my hair in pigtails and admire my outfit in the mirror. I’m ready to step out the door to go to elementary school. The only thing standing between me and getting to school was my underwear. I couldn’t put my hand on the front door without my mom asking, “are you wearing underwear?” I have never been a good liar. My mom eventually gave up
UNDERWEAR, page 6