By Olivia Fendrich and Radiah Jamil On a fall day outside Francis Scott Key High School in Carroll County, Md., a circle of chairs was arranged in the grass, where about 50 members of Sources of Strength took turns trading truths and seats. From the center of the circle, junior Sarah Myers introduced herself to...
Category: Baltimore
Homeless, anxious, depressed and young
But there’s hope and help when home conflicts, mental health struggles lead to homelessness for 500,000-plus youth each year By Julianne Hill, Caitlyn Hutabarat and Amira Horowitz Urban Health Media Project This story was also published in The Afro on November 23, 2021. (Photo: Berri Wilmore) After Jordan DeVega’s grandmother died when he was 16,...
Abuse: No One Talked About It
By Sierra Lewter October, 2017 Editor’s note: This is the personal story of one young African American woman’s rape as a child. Her name is being withheld to protect her privacy. “Margaret” grew up on a farm in rural Georgia with her mother and grandmother. At the age of six, the 60-year-old white man...
For Many Teens Life’s Tough Choices Begin With Bad Food
By Dominiquie Waters (Baltimore) and Joshua Mitchell (D.C.) Myra Jackson refuses to eat lunch in D.C.’s H.D. Woodson High School cafeteria because, she said, she just can’t stomach hamburgers or grilled sandwiches topped with “fake cheese.” The people who prepare and serve food to students “are not doing their job. Most students just go to...
Baltimore program seeks to interrupt violence
By: Marquart Doty and Berri Wilmore June, 2017 “We have to provide a safe place, where someone can feel comfortable enough to have a long conversation about their issues, in order to hear their own answers…” -Dedra Layne, Director, Safe Streets Baltimore We are constantly told that violence among youth in our urban...