I help people with psychosis off the streets. Sometimes, their minds won’t let them leave

‘For neighbors living with delusions, paranoia and trauma, the path [to housing] can be wildly complicated and mostly hidden from public view.’ Illustration: Chris Kim/The Guardian

The apartment came up on the city’s alert system: a studio on a leafy street, one block from Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

The location is extremely desirable – it would be a score for any single person hunting for their first New York rental, let alone someone who had spent years in the shelter system.