By Kateryna Vynohradova
I saw him lie quietly on the ground. People walked by, barely noticing him. His whole life fit into one old cart: a few mats, carpets, a worn blanket, a pillow, and piles of plastic.
To most people, his belongings might look like trash. But for him, this was everything he needed to stay warm, dry, and alive.
Like many others, I’ve often hesitated to approach people living on the streets. Since childhood, I’ve learned to walk carefully: to cross the street or change train cars when I see someone sleeping on a bench. To avoid places that smell like someone’s “home.” To stay alert, ready to move if someone shouts in anger. We are taught to look away, to protect ourselves, but that distance comes with a cost.
Seeing him made me think about how many people in New York live the same way—in one of the richest and most expensive cities in the world—and how little support they often get. More than 350,000 people experience homelessness in New York City each night. This number shows how deep the problem runs and how much more we need to do. I felt angry about how unfair that is, and ashamed that we, as a society, so often choose not to see.
When I first came to the United States as a new immigrant, I arrived in New York alone, carrying just one small suitcase. I still remember the night before my trip, trying to fit my whole life into that little case, deciding what truly mattered. I was lucky to find support here—from friends, mentors, communities, and kind strangers who helped me when I needed it most. Their compassion helped me find my footing and inspired me to give back, to help others, and to make this city I now call home a little kinder.
Looking at the man in the street brought that memory back. His cart reminded me of my suitcase: two small containers holding two very different lives. One filled with hope, the other with survival. That moment made me think about how much care and kindness can change someone’s life. And it also made me think about how much harder survival becomes as our climate changes. People living on the streets are often the first to face extreme cold, heat waves, storms, flooding, and pollution—all of which are becoming more intense every year. Climate change isn’t abstract for them; it’s daily life. When you have no door to close, no safe room to rest in, you feel every shift in the weather directly.
No one should have to fight just to survive in a city as big and full of opportunity as New York. I hope we can make it a place where people can find real support—a roof, mental health care, protection from extreme weather, and a community that doesn’t look away. I dream that by noticing and caring, we can make a real difference for those most affected by our changing climate, and that one day, this city will become a place where everyone has a chance to live with dignity.
Kateryna Vynohradova is a Ukrainian immigrant who arrived in New York alone in April 2022 because of the war and now lives in Brooklyn. She works in the nonprofit sector and uses storytelling to examine homelessness and climate vulnerability in urban life, guided by the belief that noticing one another is the first step toward meaningful change.