The Simple Truth About Community Struggles

I’ve spent more than a decade working in the public schools and communities of Baltimore, walking alongside kids and families who have been caught in cycles of crime, broken relationships, and trauma. I’ve sat with children who have lost friends to violence, who have watched their parents disappear into addiction, and who have learned too early that the world is not always a kind place. People talk about these problems as if they’re too complex to solve—as if we need endless resources, policies, and programs to make any real change. But the truth is, at its core, this issue is much simpler than we make it.

Generational trauma doesn’t just disappear—it passes from parent to child, from child to community, shaping the way people think, react, and connect with the world. A parent who was never shown love struggles to show it to their child. A kid who has only ever known rejection and judgment seeks comfort in the only place they feel understood—others who are hurting just as deeply. Trauma isolates, breaks trust, and creates a constant search for belonging, even if that belonging is found in the wrong places.