Pass the Mic features the voices and stories of people with a lived experience of homelessness. In this edition, hear from Deborah - a US Army veteran, Bingo lover and lifelong volunteer.
The Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services has declared a winter shelter warning for Friday, January 24, 2025, at 4 pm until Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at 9 am. Call 211 (available 24/7) or 443-984-9540 to connect with shelter. Get more info here.
06.10.20
Client Relations Coordinator, Malcolm Williams, LCSW-C shared the poetry below at our agency talent show in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
I don’t believe in captivity so I write
Because the words in my head are trying to escape
My pin to paper opens the gate and words hit the sheets like massive quakes
Shaking the foundations that madness reside
And shining light on the evil they try hard to hide
I’m a Gemini poet and my words are songs of captivity and rejoicing dancing in the streets freedom
Painting a vivid picture of the reality we all are living
My lyrical vibe flow deep from within
Exposing the system with each swipe of my mighty pen
Striking furiously between each creative sheet
Liberating mind drumming vibrations to each eardrum it meets
I don’t believe in captivity so I write and my words are proof of it
Freedom Writer of breaking free thoughts
You can feel the strength when my words flow out
Screaming like birth canal crossers no doubt
Feel me, see me, but by all means hear me shout
Storming into this world with earths gravitational force
My thoughts don’t get along with my mind so they stay getting a divorce
And my thoughts come out angry because they didn’t get a pre-nup
So when you hear what I write best believe damnit, I’m gone cuss
I don’t believe in captivity so I write
Freeing the words inside of my mind
They roam on paper before taking residence in your dome, new home to zone with
I spark changes in the minds of the people when I spit
Verbally punching and leaving third black eyes in the midst of my poetic existence
You see freedom poems is what I spit
Not for my ownership but for the masses to get equipped with, fit with, quick with, slick with
Because the battle does exist
You see healthcare disparities show just how ill equip we be
Following the lead of this money hungry society
And we are in the loosing lane insane to how powerful our brains are not
Being equipped with the shit this system teaches us is legit
I reject your message that push daily to silence this rebellish behavior
So I write with the force of Malcolm, Assatta, Martin, Tubman, Douglas and Davis
And those who stood against night raids from ghost who felt it better we be encaged
I don’t believe in captivity so I write
For those who find themselves voiceless in the midst of the pain
Baltimore city is full of people sleeping on park benches in the rain
While COVID-19’s constantly running through the Black Butterfly like New York City trains
And my people fall susceptible to disease because of societies bottom-line they push to maintain
As police brutality replays, loop the TV over and over again.
I don’t believe in captivity so I write
I don’t believe in captivity so I write
I don’t believe in captivity so I Write
To right the wrongs
America has forced upon our existence for far too long
I don’t believe in captivity so I wrote this poem…
By Malcolm Williams
Pass the Mic features the voices and stories of people with a lived experience of homelessness. In this edition, hear from Deborah - a US Army veteran, Bingo lover and lifelong volunteer.
Follow a “Day in the life” of SOAR, one of our littlest known programs that makes a big impact for people experiencing homelessness with mental health disabilities. SOAR Coordinator Mina Davis-Harrison and Disability Outreach Assistant Specialists Dave Ramsey and Natasha Legette facilitate the national “SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery” program for all of Baltimore City.
Youth Empowered Society (YES) is Baltimore City’s only drop-in center for youth experiencing homelessness. We chatted with Program Director Ciera Dunlap about the need for youth services, the new location and the year ahead.
Many of our public policies create and prolong homelessness. Regardless of the political party in office, each of us has the power and responsibility to https://nhchc.org/make our values known.