Colombian Migrant Woman Commits Suicide At NYC Homeless Shelter, Leaves Behind 15-Year-Old Son And 7-Year-Old Daughter
A migrant woman hailing from Bogotá, Colombia tragically committed suicide at a New York City homeless shelter on Sunday, leaving behind her 7-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son.
As reported by the New York Post, the 32-year-old woman and her two children were living in Hollis Family Shelter in Queens, and the family had migrated to New York this past May. As per the outlet, the body of the woman was allegedly found hanging from a shower rod with an electrical cord at their room in the shelter. There was no suicide note.
Meanwhile, some reports have surfaced about a shelter staffer finding the woman, but New York Daily News alleges that her own son found her. A family neighbor explained to the outlet that the teenager told police he felt his mother’s death was his “fault.” His tragic reasoning? Because he left her “alone.”
The mother of two had reportedly asked her children to go play outside, taking her life before they came back. Now, the son and daughter are staying at another NYC shelter with a family friend, and will soon move back to Bogotá with their father because he “won’t let them stay.”
According to NBC New York, the mother and her children had been struggling for quite some time. Living in New York for “several months,” they were separated from the father of the family “at the border.” He had “repeatedly” tried to enter the United States and reunite with his wife and children, but had been denied.
While the woman has still not been identified, her case comes at a breaking point in the migrant crisis, with at least 11,000 immigrants arriving in New York since the beginning of the summer. As explained by NBC, shelters have fewer and fewer resources, migrants have no opportunity to work, and government officials are at a standstill when it comes to actually helping.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams took to Twitter to post about the tragic death, tweeting, “Yesterday, an asylum seeker in one of our facilities took her own life.”
The Mayor’s statement continued on the City of New York’s website, reading, “Our hearts break for this young woman and any loved ones she may have, and we, as a city mourn her. This tragedy is a reminder that we have an obligation to do everything in our power to help those in need.”