Yonkers ACT worker spent 12 months searching for a Bronx patient

Nate Levin, a worker with an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team, ended a twelve month search for a specific mental health participant in the Bronx. The search took place on Dyre Avenue, a north-south street in the Bronx. Levin’s team covered all of Westchester County, but the participant lived in the city. The final months of the hunt involved daily checks of the block between Dark Street and Light Street. The participant eventually evaded the team entirely. Levin later returned to the area hoping to see a local shop owner but could not find the specific store.

Levin worked for an ACT team based in Yonkers. The team’s service area included the entire county. Staffing shortages made the wide geographic spread difficult to manage. Most participants lived in southern Westchester, allowing for regular in-person contact. Only one or two clients lived in northern Westchester. Those individuals were contacted primarily by phone. In-person visits for those northern clients occurred only once or twice a month.

The Bronx participant lived near the intersection of Dyre Avenue and Light Street. This location is one block south of East 223rd Street. A subway and elevated train line terminates at this corner. Levin often sat near the station exit to watch passengers disembark. He looked for the participant in the dispersing crowds. He rarely saw them. When he did, it happened no more than once or twice during the entire period.

The primary goal of the visits was to maintain engagement with the team. On other days, the task was more urgent. Levin had to locate the participant so a psychiatrist could drive from Yonkers to Dyre Avenue. The psychiatrist would then persuade the client to receive their anti-psychotic medication injection. The longer the shot was overdue, the harder it was to convince the participant. Levin had to stay with the client until the psychiatrist arrived.

The search area was bracketed by Dark Street to the north and Light Street to the south. Levin walked both sides of the street. He looked into store windows. On a few occasions, he spotted the participant walking toward him before he had started crossing the street. The participant had seen him first. A shop owner on the block helped with the search. The owner was an immigrant from the Middle East. Levin described the owner as kind and benevolent. Levin often entered the store to ask if the participant had been seen. The owner frequently reported that the participant had visited recently to charge a phone.

The participant’s disappearance from the team’s records was final. Levin noted that the evasion was not fatal. He returned to the Dyre Avenue area months later. He wanted to greet the shop owner. He walked the block several times but could not locate the specific store. Levin concluded that the owner had moved to a different neighborhood.

The ACT team continued to operate in Westchester. The specific participant remains out of regular contact with the team. The shop on Dyre Avenue where the owner once resided is no longer in the same location. Levin’s search for that specific client concluded with the participant’s final evasion. The next scheduled check for that specific client is no longer on the team’s active list. The team continues to manage its roster of clients across the county.