Ohio鈥檚 largest men鈥檚 shelter serves its residents with more than beds and meals. The Cleveland facility offers a platform for self-expression through writing.
On Wednesday afternoons, men gather for the Finding Voice poetry workshop at the shelter, known locally as 2100 Lakeside. Some participants show up for cookies and coffee. All of them come for friendship and conversation.
鈥淪ome men are there once and you never see them again. Other men are there for six months, a year. However long they're here, they get hooked,鈥� said Annie Holden, a founding member of Finding Voice.
Holden has stuck with the program for 15 years, with the mission to help people make connections through poetry.
鈥淚t gives you more than even serving a meal,鈥� Holden said. 鈥淵ou actually get to hear people talk and express themselves... It's just the commonality of the human experience.鈥�
