“My new life is going to cost me my old one,” recited Harlemite Helen Taylor in a poem she wrote about moving on. Today, her return on investment includes performing Shakespeare in the Park, displaying her work at MoMA PS1, and getting recognized as “Outstanding Neighbor of the Year” by the Supportive Housing Network of New York last month.
But what started in Harlem remains in Harlem. Taylor left her old life at the door when she entered Fortune Society’s transitional housing program for people returning home from incarceration. She ultimately moved into her first apartment, a supportive housing unit in the reentry nonprofit’s Castle Gardens development on 140th Street.
Taylor excelled under the model, which pairs permanent affordable housing with substance use treatment, mental healthcare, and other services tackling contributing factors to homelessness. She’s now regarded as Castle Garden’s “Mama Bear” and known for her motto, “love is love.” After all, she found her people. When Taylor contracted COVID-19, they picked up her groceries. They celebrate her birthdays. And now she’s paying it forward.
“Once I got my apartment, I wanted to reach out and help the ones that [are] still incarcerated,” said Taylor over the phone. “So that when they come out, they would be fortunate to get what I got: supportive housing. So I started advocating.”
Consequently, Taylor became an unofficial spokesperson for supportive housing, speaking at rallies and city council meetings for policies and proposals to expand the practice across the Five Boroughs, especially for other formerly-incarcerated individuals who face a higher risk of homelessness. She participates in other criminal justice reform movements, including for closing the Rikers Island jails.
Earlier this year, Taylor campaigned for Int. 1100, a bill to include time spent in jail, prison, or court-mandated medical detention toward the qualifying threshold for supportive housing, which usually requires a consecutive year of homelessness. Her story played a significant role, and she testified how the housing model saved her life to the City Council. The legislation was passed in August.
She also got involved with Fortune Society’s arts programming — she’s a singer, actor, and poet. In 2023, Taylor took the stage in a high-profile adaptation of “The Tempest” at Central Park’s Delacourte Theater, where she proudly notes Denzel Washington once starred. The Public Works’ production received a New York Times’ critics’ pick and featured the likes of Hamilton actress Renée Elise Goldsberry. Taylor says she’s come a long way from sleeping on park benches to performing Shakespeare in the Park.
“The streets was [sic] my life at one point,” said Taylor. “And today it’s not. I want people who are coming out of prison to know that they do have a second chance because I’m a living proof, and I never thought that I would be where I am today.”
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