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Life was not always glamorous for fashion stylist Mykel Smith.

No one knew that for two years of his life he was homeless, even while making a name for himself in the fashion world. He was HIV positive, was always broke, and was asking friends to sleep on their couches.

"It struck me when I found out I was HIV positive that you don't have a home to live in to call your own," said Smith.

For the next six months, Smith would call the Praxis Housing Initiatives his home. Praxis Housing Initiatives is an organization that provides transitional housing and support to the homeless, many of whom suffer from HIV and AIDS.

"To come back, what he came back from, and most people just give up when they're as desperate and destitute as he is, but he came back and he turned his life around," said Praxis Chief Executive Officer and President John Foran.

With the help of Praxis, Smith got medical care and learned how to manage his finances. For the past year-and-a-half, he's been living on his own in the Bronx; six months ago, he became the creative director for fashion designer Simon Duncan.

The duo's first fashion show is later this month and Smith wanted all the proceeds to go to Praxis.

"It's about Praxis because it's right in front of my face all the time," he said. "I knew it, and it just kind of clicked. I'd been looking for a way to give back, but why not give back to the organization that helped you out and its still helping me out to this day."

"I was excited about that, knowing that it was a program that helped a lot of people who needed help," said Duncan. "If we could be associated with somebody like that, it's a great thing."

The fashion show is titled "Made in New York."

"I was made in New York, everything good that's ever happened to me, including this, has happened in New York," said Smith. "Simon Duncan happened to me in New York Praxis happened to me in New York."

"The true New Yorkers are the one's that really survive when the low points are there," said Duncan. "He is one of the true New Yorkers."

Smith says he hopes to do a fashion show every year, where all the proceeds go to Praxis.

"He found so much cushion and support in us that we became his family, I think," said Lynmaris Marrero, housing director of Praxis. "And we became one of the reasons why he wanted to move on and look back and give back."

So for giving back to Praxis by combining his love of fashion and family, Mykel Smith is the New Yorker of the Week.

For more information about the Simon Duncan fashion show, call 718-783-0100.

And, to learn more about Praxis Housing Initiatives, call 212-293-8404 or go to www.praxishousing.org.

If you'd like to nominate someone to be NY1's New Yorker of the Week, send an email describing their qualifications to: nyer@ny1.com or mail a letter to:

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New Yorker of the Week
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