Ãngel Franco/The New York Times  Iking Little, who is legally blind, was evicted in June after 15 years in his Bronx apartment.  Every time a new roommate walked into Iking Little’s apartment in the Bronx, he thought he had found someone to help him hold on to the only home he had known for more than a decade.  For the past 100 years, The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund has provided direct assistance to children, families and the elderly in New York. To celebrate the centennial campaign, an article will appear daily through Feb. 10. Each profile will illustrate the difference that even a modest amount of money can make in easing the struggles of the poor.  Last year, 10,457 donors contributed $6,061,024, which was distributed to those in need through seven New York charities.  He had scoured Craigslist for suitable candidates. But one by one, each roommate failed. Some stayed for one night or a few days; some skipped out without paying him any rent. His ordeal lasted for more than two years.  “I don’t even know how I went on for that long — it was a miracle,” Mr. Little, 35, said. He is legally blind and has cataracts, with only partial sight in his right eye and almost none in his left.  His search started in late 2008, when a roommate of nearly a decade moved out to get married. Mr. Little had been studying for a bachelor’s degree in business administration at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and depended on disability benefits and the portion of his roommate’s rent. He tried to find someone else to move in long term, but was unsuccessful. When he found it hard to make the monthly payments, he was evicted in June after 15 years in his apartment.  Mr. Little’s first stop was a shelter at Bellevue in Manhattan, but initially he was allowed to stay only one night, he said. Next, he went to a shelter on Wards Island, but checking in proved to be daunting. He uses closed-circuit television systems, including a hand-held magnifying device, to help him read. But the device was stolen from his apartment, he said, along with a computer and most of his belongings. He said that when he got the eviction notice, he left his possessions behind, asking a superintendent to keep an eye on them while he looked for a new place. But a roommate was given access to the apartment and took everything, he said.  Mr. Little, who wears glasses, said he told staff members at the Wards Island shelter that he had trouble seeing the check-in form, and asked to be shown where to sign. To his dismay, he recalled, he was told to sign in the wrong spot, and he lost a bed reservation because the shelter has strict rules about filling out the form correctly. He said he was allowed to sleep in the lobby of the intake office that night.  “I wanted to get out,” he said. “They were making a plan for me, to help me get out earlier and find housing.” But because of the check-in mix-up, he said, “I lost the bed and it was over.”  A representative for the city’s Department of Homeless Services said she could find no record of Mr. Little’s losing his bed and declined to comment further.  From Wards Island, Mr. Little headed back to Bellevue. About a month later, he found a letter on his bed there notifying him it was time to leave. The worst part, he said, was that he was two weeks away from being placed in housing, but once he left the shelter, the process had to start over.  Mr. Little was directed to a shelter in Brooklyn, but he said he was given the wrong address. He wandered for a day until he found himself back in Manhattan, on Canal Street, well past dark, in the pouring rain. The next day, Mr. Little — whose mother died this year and who is estranged from his father and siblings — called a friend, who drove him to the shelter in Brooklyn.  Eventually, Mr. Little found his way to Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New York, one of the seven agencies supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. Catholic Charities bought him a hand-held closed-circuit television device and drew $262.23 from the fund to pay for a lock and the fees to put his belongings in storage.  Mr. Little then tried finding his dream job. For as long as he could remember, he had wanted to work at GameStop, the video game store. “I had every video game when I was a kid,” he said.  He applied at 10 GameStop locations in Manhattan, submitting four applications alone to the flagship store at 33rd Street and Broadway. An employment specialist at Catholic Charities’ Guild for the Blind presented Mr. Little’s case to a manager at GameStop. But the specialist said it was Mr. Little’s enthusiasm about GameStop that ultimately got him the job.  “I can’t believe I’m working there,” Mr. Little marveled.  Mr. Little works two days a week, earning $8.50 an hour as an associate. He also receives $760 a month in Supplemental Security Income disability benefits and $200 a month in food stamps. He said his co-workers bend over backward to help him learn the job. He uses the hand-held magnifier to help him see the prices and the names of video games.  Mr. Little is now back at the Wards Island shelter, saving money for a new apartment. He hopes to be approved for housing in the Bronx.  “The shelter is horrible,” Mr. Little said, “and I’ve got to get out of there as soon as possible.”
Iking Littleâs bad luck started with a string of unreliable roommates and continued in homeless shelters. But now the 35-year-old, who is legally blind, has a job he is thrilled about.