78-Year-Old Lydia: "I Don't Fit Anywhere" 40 Years Homeless in New York City

Affordable housing is getting harder and harder to find everywhere.

Lydia lives in Albany, New York at Present

Lydia is a remarkable and resilient woman. She has a wonderful attitude about life.

Over 40 years ago she lived with someone who got evicted from their apartment and she became homeless. She took to the streets and has been there ever since. Today she lives off food stamps and Medicaid.

Even though, she qualifies for Social Security benefits, her records have been deleted and she cannot receive benefits even after trying several times.

Lydia lives on the streets of Albany, New York and sleeps on construction materials at night. She doesn’t know how long she will be living here, but it depends on how long the construction site will be available for her.

During the past 40 years, Lydia has also lived in Washington D. C. and, Alexandria, Va. while homeless.

Trump’s New Policy on Social Security

While there is a lot of news about the Trump administration and changes being made to the social security and Medicaid, we only hear mostly about people who are receiving benefits who are not entitled to them.

Recently, Musk mentioned that people who are 150 years old are receiving social security and Trump mentioned that millions of people are receiving benefits who are not entitled to them. But I never hear any mention of people who are entitled to benefits (like Lydia) and doesn’t get them.

Lydia Believes You Can Only Live in the Present

The Invisible People Interviewer asked Lydia what she does all day. She replied; I wake up, eat my breakfast and go talk to friends and wait for night time and go to sleep and wake up the next day and repeat the same thing over again.

Lydia believes we can only live in the present and if you hope for tomorrow, it is only a fantasy. She further stresses “worry” is a useless emotion. So, she learned years ago how to live in the present and not to worry about the future. Maybe this is one reason why she is so resilient.

The Invisible People Organization

Invisible people are sought out by the Invisible People Organization to bring the homeless problem in America to the forefront to help educate the public. Such stories like Lydia’s inspires me with her attitude about life. I often think about where she goes with the winter storm hitting New York right now.

At her age, it’s so dangerous to be out in the elements and living on the streets.

I hope to follow up and check back to see if Lydia’s situation has changed for the better or if she remains living on the streets.

When I get the new updated information, I will be sure to write a new story concerning Lydia’s lifestyle.

Thanks for reading!

Kindly,

Carol