On the morning of December 22, 2024, 57-year-old Debrina Kawam was tragically set on fire and killed while she slept on an F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station. Her horrific death in the middle of the holiday season shocked the city and the country. It took days before the public even knew her name.

Before we had all the details, Newsweek asked Care For the Homeless President & CEO George Nashak for comment. This is what he said in their December 26th article:

Last week, Care For the Homeless sponsored a memorial for more than 360 New Yorkers who died while experiencing homelessness in the past year. A particularly tragic element of the commemoration was the fact that we could only honor some of these people as John or Jane Doe. We did not know their names.

We don’t know if the woman who was tortured to death on the F train was unsheltered. But we know that the streets and subways are very dangerous places to live, particularly if you are a woman.

Here is the unpublished portion of Nashak’s quote:

We implore people living outdoors to take advantage of the robust service system available to people experiencing homelessness in New York City.  Please come inside to safety.

George Nashak, President & CEO, Care For the Homeless

You can read more about Debrina Kawam’s life in this The New York Times piece.