The Tragic Story of Thomas Rath
Like many cities nationwide, Ithaca, New York, struggles with increased homelessness, specifically homeless encampments in an area known as The Jungle. Compounding this issue is the local government’s neglect of this homeless community marked by makeshift shelters and a climate of fear.
Systemic failures have profoundly impacted the lives of Ithaca’s most vulnerable residents. The best way to illustrate that point is to explore the life and tragic death of Thomas Rath, whose story illuminates the challenges faced by The Jungle community.
Back in April, Tompkins County Environmental Health (TCEH) issued the City of Ithaca a notice of violation, ordering officials to clean up homeless encampments in The Jungle and designating them as a public health hazard. Under a sanctioned encampment policy, the city adopted last year, camping is not permitted in the area. However, this policy provides no direction for the growing homeless epidemic. While the city has been ordered to clean up The Jungle, this task has been difficult, with local law enforcement avoiding it altogether. This inaction has allowed The Jungle to grow exponentially leaving an off-the-grid community for homeless people with nowhere else to go.
Bordered by railroad tracks, the Six Mile Creek, and Cayuga Lake, The Jungle has been described as many things. A hide-out, a drug den, a place of freedom and fires, a place where overdoses occur, and felons hide. It is a community with its own set of laws and law enforcement, all of which were appointed through violence and fear by outside criminals. There’s a history of fires, campsites that have been burned down as a result of “Jungle justice.”
From Despair to Murder
Thomas Rath, better known as Tommy, was a homeless resident of The Jungle. His story is one filled with pain, mental illness, drug addiction, and violence, all having taken place during the worst parts of COVID-19. Tommy was a 33-year-old addict living in a shelter made of tarp and wood.
Before the world fell apart, he managed well as a supervisor for a Rochester construction firm. Tommy and his girlfriend Jamie lived together with their 3-year-old daughter in a house they planned to buy. However, COVID disrupted the construction trade, causing Tommy to spiral. He showed signs of manic-depressive disorder, going from hot to cold, often self-medicating to manage his symptoms. COVID pushed him far over the edge.
To manage his stress, he started smoking methamphetamine. The addiction took hold, and his psychiatric disorder worsened. After a threat of suicide, he was taken to a psychiatric facility where he did 30 days of rehab. It didn’t help. He quickly found himself in the jaws of The Jungle, vulnerable in his grief.
As someone who has experienced homelessness, I would never wish it upon anyone. Homelessness already leaves you in a never ending state of vigilance, but this was something much worse. The mixture of drug addiction and living in The Jungle led Tommy to fits of paranoia. He had already lost touch with his family. Then Tommy was taken advantage of by an outside predator, Joseph Howel.
Predators Allowed to Prey on Vulnerable Individuals
After losing his family, girlfriend, and daughter, Tommy’s addiction quickly led to him falling into debt to Howel, a New York City drug dealer. It was so bad that Ithaca authorities told Tommy’s family to leave town.
Howel was a sort of “King” of the Jungle, the community’s drug dealer and crime boss. The homeless people living in The Jungle were terrified of him, but local law enforcement did little to protect them.
While not homeless himself, Howel supplied the homeless community with drugs and then beat homeless addicts who couldn’t pay. This man orchestrated the kidnapping, beating, and eventual execution of Tommy.
The year leading up to Tommy’s death was full of violence and cruelty. He was beaten, zip-tied, and taken away from The Jungle on Howel’s orders. His violent kidnapping terrified neighbors, the homeless community, as well as the City of Ithaca.
Still, the City of Ithaca allowed The Jungle to exist and, more importantly, allowed someone like Joseph Howel to rise in power. Its homeless population grew during COVID, while local lawmakers and authorities took little steps to evade the waiting horrors.
Officials’ Neglect Pushes Homeless People Further into Danger
Advocates for homeless people argue that Ithaca police spend more time jailing people experiencing homelessness than actually protecting them from the dangers of The Jungle – all while hardly ever approaching the area. They threatened homeless people with fines and jail time, which drove these individuals with little to no resources to The Jungle.
Because the local government neglected this homeless community, violent drug dealers were able to swoop in and take advantage of that situation. These actions inevitably led to Howel’s rise in power.
Drug dealers supplied distraught addicts with drugs, then burned down their tents when they couldn’t pay. They knew this place was untouched and unmonitored by police. Perhaps they knew the city cared little for the lives of homeless people in this community. This fact was made clear when Ithaca made little to no effort to actually help the people living within the clutches of The Jungle and its “King,” Joseph Howel.
Instead of developing real solutions, such as the development of affordable housing and supportive housing for homeless people who struggle with addiction and mental illness, the City of Ithaca used the threats of arrest and jail time to tackle its growing homeless epidemic. This ultimately led homeless people further into hiding, further away from areas where they would be safe.
Failure to Circumvent Crime and Terror
Nearly ten years ago, there was a fatal tent fire, followed by another death along the nearby railroad tracks. In response to these deaths, the City of Ithaca closed a section of The Jungle, hoping that it would encourage the homeless community to enter shelters. This, of course, did little to combat the issue. Without the development of affordable housing and supportive housing for those struggling with addiction, people would inevitably go back. And that’s exactly what they did. Where else would they go?
A decade of neglect made way for all kinds of horror. It created a space for Howel and his gunmen to supply the drugs to a homeless community and terrorize the most vulnerable, neglected people of the City of Ithaca. And, the City of Ithaca paved the way.
Homeless People Are More Likely to Be Victims of Crime
The thing is, it’s so much bigger than Ithaca. The events that took place in The Jungle are the result of numerous systemic failures that have allowed homelessness to become what it is today. At its core, it’s negative messaging and how we think of homeless people. Society’s perception of homeless people is one that easily kills them.
We, the community members, value their lives less. As a result, local governments and law enforcement also value their lives less.
We think of homeless people as lesser than us, undeserving. We paint this picture, and they become it. This makes them a target for violence and crime. We allow it to happen because we believe they are criminals, too. But that is untrue.
Studies, both new and old, scholarly and independent, all come to the same conclusion: homeless people are more likely to be victims of crime while simultaneously being more likely to be arrested. The story of Tommy and the residents of The Jungle is the perfect example of this.
Because we look the other way, so do our lawmakers. When everyone turns a blind eye, we leave our most vulnerable population as a target. Remember, homeless people have a much softer voice than we do – it’s really up to us to speak up loudly and demand better protections, better treatment, better services, better shelters, and better housing for all homeless people.