An 81-year-old Harlem woman is speaking out about the terrifying ordeal she endured at the hands of her own family.
Margie Allen is alleging that she was trapped inside her apartment, isolated, and emotionally abused as relatives attempted to take control of her home and finances.
The elderly woman, who has lived in her Harlem apartment for decades, described how what started as a family arrangement quickly turned into a nightmare.
“I was just so frightened,” Allen recalled. “At first, everything seemed fine. But after about a year, things started getting ugly, and they stopped paying rent.”
Allen told 11 News that her nephew and his girlfriend took over her home, blocking hallways with clutter and using a metal gate to prevent her from accessing the bathroom or kitchen.
“She put the gate there so that I couldn’t go to the bathroom,” Allen said. “I couldn’t even take a shower.”
She also alleged verbal abuse and physical intimidation, saying she was repeatedly cursed at and, on one occasion, pushed when she tried to leave.
A Cry for Help and a Fight for Freedom
After months of living in fear, Allen’s situation took a dramatic turn when police from the 28th Precinct intervened. Officers arrived after receiving a call and arrested her nephew.
“They explained to me that this man was attempting to have me committed to a mental institution,” Allen said tearfully.
According to Allen, her relatives went to court falsely claiming she was incapable of taking care of herself.
“They said, ‘Oh, we think she’s crazy because she’s using the bathroom in a bucket,’” Allen said, explaining that she had been locked out of her own restroom.
Feeling helpless, Allen reached out to Stephanie McGraw, founder of We All Really Matter (WARM)—a Harlem-based nonprofit supporting victims of domestic violence.
McGraw and her team stepped in, helping Allen fight in family court, secure her home, and remove the couple from her apartment.
“At her critical point, this family member wanted the apartment,” McGraw said. “So they went to the court and told the court she was mentally incapable of taking care of herself.”
With WARM’s help, Allen won her case and received grief counseling to heal from the trauma.
A Message to Other Seniors
Now, free and recovering, Allen is using her story to warn other seniors who may find themselves in a similar situation.
“You think you can handle it by yourself, but you can’t,” she said. “You have to find people who will help you, as I did.”
She now spends time at WARM, a place she says lives up to its name.
