safety BX

Welcome to safety BX, 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, in hospitals, on the streets, in shelters, and anywhere else our community is.

You can find safety BX on spotify at: https://open.spotify.com/show/5PmLTnD2cqa4E6VeahnHmv?si=bI0qxNWGQgySBe21BX8ZLQ or individual episodes below.

Description: Portland, Maine poet Stephen Foley nourishes us with his poems entitled: Doors, Homeless Please Help, Narcissistic Facebook Profile, and Flipping the Coin.

Description: 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, at first, appear very different. Today they share a city, a community, and a friendship.

Description: Raven Cartwright is a clearing pathways for trans folks in the Portlnd shelter system. She is a hardcore RuPaul follower. She is brilliant, funny, and color coordinated. Bask with us 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.

Description: Change is here- on this election night. Change is copacetic. The future that Jess Falero and Courtney Priest fight for is one guided bu 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

Description: 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/?

Description: Four years ago, John Kennedy was met by a 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.