FOUND: Antonio Battle
It’s been months since I’ve written about Antonio Battle, mainly because I had no idea where he was and could report nothing of substance. Just before the pandemic hit, he left the latest shelter where he’d been staying and became homeless again. It had almost become routine—him checking into a shelter, disliking his treatment there, leaving abruptly, being picked up and brought to another shelter, repeat cycle—but this pandemic cast a further pall over his situation. As casualties piled up from this horrible virus, as the weeks progressed into months, I kept thinking that he could die on the streets and I would never know.
The only ways I kept track of him were when I received calls from service providers, which meant I heard when he was checked into and discharged from an emergency room and when he took out a prescription for psychotropic medication. Many times there would be weeks between these occurrences, when I would wonder if that was the time I just wouldn’t hear anything from or about him again. He was enrolled in a healthcare company called Brightpoint, and a woman from there would call me weekly; I have to say, this person, whose name I can’t disclose despite wanting to, was a boon through this, talking out plans with me for when we heard from Antonio, reassuring me as his primary contact that she would be the first to go meet him in person once he turned up. I admit, though, that as the weeks piled up I became discouraged.
But then, last week, I got a call from an unknown 718, and it was Antonio! He’s now checked in at St. Anthony Shelter for Renewal in the Bronx, and he seems really optimistic. They are having him there for the next six months, and will be working him on securing permanent housing in the meantime (which of course is hardly guaranteed, but nonetheless). I thing that excited me was how much he wanted to talk about his work—he feels like he has a stable enough living situation, and wants to begin creating again.
He’s begun doing his art with the materials he has, but unfortunately his phone and tablet were stolen while he was at one of his previous shelters. I brought this back to our Re/Creation team, and we came up with a plan. Here it is, and here’s how you can help.
We have scans of multiple pieces of his visual art, so we’re going to start a limited-edition run of t-shirts and coffee mugs with prints of his work starting this weekend! The fundraising drive will run to the end of the month, when we will use the funds to buy Antonio a tablet and materials for his work, which are intrinsic to his being as a person and will allow him to further connect himself to all of us in his long road to reentry and recovery.
I encourage you to buy a t-shirt, mug, or both, and you can always add a donation on top of that if you’re so inclined. I’ll also reach out to you during the campaign to help spread the word to your people, giving you easy cut-and-paste tweets and graphics to share.
Ok, team. Let’s do this!
Re/Creation is now running a fundraiser from July 12-31 with limited edition t-shirts and coffee mugs featuring Antonio Battle’s work. Please considering buying one (or more!). All funds will go to Antonio as he continues to struggle and strive in his work and in his reentry.