A podcast where people in Maine reclaim their narratives on mental health, substance use and homelessness. safety BX is a production of Amistad. Amistad supports people in jails, hospitals, on the streets, shelter and anywhere our community is.
Samantha Velez and Courtney Pladsen discuss their growing relationship, as patient and doctor, and as friends. Together they build a space where work toward trust, harm reduction and healing is possible for each other.
Rodney Yancey spits some poetry & Brian French lays the vibes. Here is the sound of Portland.
Brian Townsend, the Executive Director, & Meredith Pesce, the Associate Executive Director of Amistad share perspective from years of leadership in the Portland social services community. Art by: LocalandUnruly Music by: Brian French
This episode honors the National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day. We invite you to tune in to Hilary Eslinger and Cait Vaughan discuss how we are in relation to death and grief. We have found language and maps through this conversation. We hope this will do the same for you. Music by: Kafari
Portland, Maine poet Stephen Foley nourishes us with his poems entitled: Doors, Homeless Please Help, Narcissistic Facebook Profile, and Flipping the Coin.
Two friends speak about their individual experiences of leaving home for the first time. Through the telling of their initial departures we learn about the multitude of ways that the idea of home can be felt. Side by side their stories appear so different but only at first, today they share a city, a community, and a friendship.
Raven Cartwright is clearing pathways for trans folks in the Portland shelter system. She is a hardcore RuPaul follower. She is brilliant, funny, color-coordinated. Bask in the wisdom of self-discovery, self-advocacy and all the loving. Follow raven @ravencartwright75. Music for this episode was created by: Kafari and Cryclub.
Change is here—on this election night. Change is copacetic. The future that Jess Falero and Courtney Priest fight for is one guided by their friendship, their resilience, and what is possible. Together they organized an 18-day direct-action protest led by homeless youth on the steps of Portland's City Hall. Learn more about the work of Maine People's Housing Coalition and their demands: https://www.facebook.com/phc.me
Bob Bergeron commits time to Ashish Shrestha in exchange for some McDoubles and coffee. Bob is an artist and a self-defined pirate on the streets of Portland, finding treasure in the form of friendship, while shaking the foundations on society's take. ARRR!! He is the co-creator of the Pirate Ship Comic, about the misadventures of a group of homeless folks in Portland, ME. Read it and follow it! It is a real elixir for the soul. Bob's work and The Pirate Ship Comic can be found on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KBComix/?
Four years ago, John Kennedy was met by new-found peer support community in a time of personal upheaval. A community in which he found a home. Today he creates spaces at the intersections of mental health and possibility.