I grew up on the streets of Baltimore (mostly). Police. Prostitutes. Pimps. Drugs. Street life is like Old Testament law! My mother was a very hurt person. My father, not in the picture, was a hustler. Even after his jail time, he didn’t come find me.
I was never homeless, because on the streets, “homeless” is when you have given up hope. The streets are about strategy. I am fundamentally a strategist. My homes were condemned buildings.
I slept wherever I could, just never in a bed of my own. As far as I knew, beds were for rich white people on TV.
Anyhow, in 9th grade, I was hungry, tired, cold and sleeping in an alley. I prayed, “God please help me.”
The answer to my prayers was Nanna. She was the miracle that began to change my life.