JOYOUS SINGER WITH CEREBRAL PALSY NEEDS OUR HELP

My friend Mathew Phillips is a wonderful, kind, selfless human being. He is a 66-year-old wheelchair-bound gospel singer with debilitating cerebral palsy. He loves to be around people and he is a friend to all.

Matthew just lost his home in the Bronx where for years he has lived with his brother and sister in the house where they grew up. Torrential rains poured through cracks in the roof and caused so much water damage that everyone was forced to move out.

Matthew is currently homeless and living on the street in New York City.

He has some support from social services, but he is too scared of the shelters in New York to sleep in them, so he’s now living out on the street full time, with no access to a bathroom. He is determined to leave New York and move to Tampa, Florida very soon, before the bitter NY winter hits.

He needs our help!

Until the Covid Pandemic, Matthew had been singing in his church with his brothers during Sunday service for many, many years. He has a beautiful, strong voice and he is the lead singer for their gospel group, “The Phillips Brothers.” In 2020 The Phillips Brothers put out an album called “Make Me Ready” and it is incredible.

Here are links to THE PHILLIPS BROTHERS “Make Me Ready” album:

Apple Music Link: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-phillips-brothers/1543542511

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/track/1Bxn8CGk8ws7KZSZlHxvPe

Here’s a link to a YouTube video of Matthew & The Phillips Brothers in one of their church performances:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PCZfSk6sXY&t=317s

Please donate to this GoFundMe so we can get Matthew a new motorized wheelchair and enough funds to help him relocate comfortably to an accessible apartment in Tampa where he can start a fresh new chapter of his life.

I first met Matthew when I moved to New York in 2015. I'd pass him every day on my way to the subway. He sits at the corner of Broadway and Houston in his beat up old wheelchair. Or he kneels in front of the wheelchair, his elbows braced on the seat, holding himself up so his useless legs don’t collapse into a pile.

I stop regularly to chat with him about everything, and learn more about his life - about the obstacles he has overcome, and his achievements (like running the NY Marathon in the wheelchair division!). He is always optimistic despite the difficulties he faces every day. His smile beams. His face is radiant and he is a beacon of joy.

His upper body is strong from operating the manual wheelchair. His lower body is ravaged. Born with cerebral palsy, unable to walk, he spent his childhood in and out of the hospital. He worked for the city and is on Social Security Disability Insurance which provides minimum income. For many years he has lived with his brother and sister in the family’s house in the Bronx. Matthew is very agile using Access-a-ride or the bus to get himself down from the Bronx to his spot on Broadway, where he loves to talk to passersby. He has established himself there so that he can be around people and share stories with anyone who takes the time to stop and get to know him.

The owners of a coffee cart a few yards away from where Matthew sits, have been there for 20 years. They are his friends. They know exactly what he wants for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and they treat him with respect and care. He insists on buying his meals himself and they accept his money.

Whenever I sit with Matthew, many people he has befriended over the years, stop to greet him and give him a high 5. Some offer him money. Some just chat. Matthew doesn't beg, but he will graciously accept money if it is offered.

Most people who pass would naturally assume Matthew was homeless, but he was not homeless. Not until now.

Several weeks ago, the house where Matthew has lived for years with his siblings, was destroyed when the roof collapsed after several days of torrential rains. His brother and sister were forced to move out of the house and out of the city, leaving Matthew to have to choose between public shelters or the streets.

At the same time that the house was flooded, his main wheelchair broke. While he waited for a part to be replaced, his back-up wheelchair fell apart, and it is beyond repair.

Matthew is very humble, and independent, and he rarely asks for help. He’s really tough and very good at taking care of himself, considering the severity of his disability. But he does not ask for enough. He deserves to be warm. He deserves a comfortable wheelchair, a solid roof over his head, and an accessible bathroom. He deserves to be seen and his incredible singing voice deserves to be heard by as many people as possible.

I’m very concerned about Matthew’s future. The more we donate, the sooner he will have a comfortable new wheelchair and warm place to live in Tampa.

Matthew is truly a living saint. People who get to know him are uplifted by his stories and by his wisdom.

With a little help from all of us, Matthew will be fine. Please donate now!