I will do it for free - Director | Editor

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Standing in the doorway of a cluttered Bronx apartment, Barbara, a Russian migrant who cleans homes for free, slipped on a pair of rubber gloves and began lifting trash bags that split under their own weight. Roaches scattered across the floor as she worked. The smell seeped into the hallway. Inside, three years’ worth of waste had piled knee-high.

Cases like this point to a largely invisible crisis in New York: individuals living in extreme domestic squalor associated with Diogenes syndrome, a behavioral condition marked by severe self-neglect, hoarding of trash, and social withdrawal. The condition is underreported nationwide, and especially in New York, where fear of eviction, language barriers, and unstable employment keep many residents from seeking help.

Barbara's latest case involves Sara, a woman in her 30s who works two cleaning jobs but could not maintain her own apartment. Friends know her as a busy, social person. No one knew she was living in squalor.

When depression struck, Sara stopped throwing out trash and avoided turning on the lights to keep from seeing roaches in the kitchen. Neighbors noticed urine-filled bags being tossed through her window toward the building’s trash area. Her bathroom had clogged, and she began using plastic bags for her bodily waste because she feared building maintenance would report the condition.

Barbara posts anonymous offers on Facebook to clean for people who feel overwhelmed by their living conditions. Dozens respond privately each month, afraid to reveal their identities publicly. Her husband, a house painter, buys the supplies so she never has to ask for payment.