Updates
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Latest
Special Farewell
Read: Special FarewellSeveral days ago we said goodbye to a longtime member of the writing group. The Speak Up writing groups bring people together—young and old, black and white, left and right. Every week we stop, pause, write to shared prompts, and listen to one another. Over time relationships form. Not just…
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Give a Voice (Literally)
Thank you for being willing to be a reader for the Speak Up YouTube channel. Follow the steps below to select and record an article.…
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Introducing… Speak Up Magazine!
For a decade, Speak Up published a print magazine that gave voice to many dozens of writers facing homelessness. Here’s a great pre-Covid news story…
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A space where overlooked people are heard
Here’s a quote from today’s writing group: I love this class and look forward to it every week. [Everyone feels] so comfortable and therefore people…
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Need shared. Need met.
On Thursday, Qiana called me. She was facing a financial crisis and was hours away from ending up on the streets with her kids. I…
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Community is Hard (and Possible)
Speak Up writing groups hit on multiple levels. They provide individual invitations. These spaces let people discover and uncover things within. Carving out time to…
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About Speak Up
Write Together, Bridge Divides In Speak Up writing groups, people come together across so-called impassable chasms—homeless versus non-homeless, this race versus that race, left versus…
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We are writing to these prompts right now
At this exact moment I’m sitting with others around a cluster of round tables writing to shared prompts. We’re sipping coffee, munching donuts, and holding…
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Citadels of Pause and Presence: Speak Up Writing Groups
We gathered, leaned in around tables with steaming cups of coffee, sticky donuts on paper plates, and a delightful collection of shared writing prompts. For…
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Write with Speak Up This Week
After a holiday break, we’re back on a regular schedule of Speak Up writing groups. In those spaces, we gather with a simple purpose. We…
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Speak Up Weekly: Write and Share
We’re three meetings in to the newest Speak Up writing community: in the Matthews Public Library in Matthews, NC. It is a particular delight to…
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Speak Up Open Mic Next Week
Join us next week for a Speak Up Open Mic Night in downtown Rock Hill, SC. The Speak Up community of workshop writers, old friends,…
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Speak Up Weekly: Join, Attend, Write
Donor Matching Giving Campaign Update One of Speak Up’s donors is matching everything donated—up to $12,500—between November 24th and the end of the year. 12/5/25…
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Speak Up Weekly: Join the Movement
One month ago there was a single weekly Speak Up writing community. Now there are three! The first one began in April 2024 at the…
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Speak Up Weekly: New Workshop Milestone. This Week’s Prompts.
Another writing community launching this week! This week there are three Speak Up writing communities meeting in three different places. Two in Rock Hill, SC,…
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Building a Successful Writing Community
Speak Up writing workshops are simple gatherings where people from all walks of life gather in person, write together, and listen to one another read…
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Printed Workshop Magazine
We’re preparing to publish a printed anthology magazine of select writings from the Speak Up workshops. All current and former workshop writers are invited to…
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Correcting the terrible affliction of homelessness
A new year is almost here! Here’s a year-end blessing Benjamin Franklin: Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let…
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Writing Workshop
Every week for the last five months I've been leading a writing group at the local public library. It was first advertised with posters in…
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Speak Up on NPR
I'm excited to share that South Carolina Public Radio, a local NPR affiliate, broadcast a story yesterday about a Speak Up writing workshop we facilitated…
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All About Pursuit Packs
But if you only have 20 seconds, here's the short version: For two years we've been promoting and distributing "job in a box" outreach kits…
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Letters to Speak Up
We get mail from people facing homelessness. Letters come from folks who are incarcerated. They also send emails, leave voicemails, and drop notes on Facebook.…
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Sometimes They Just End
Mike first showed up at Speak Up’s Charlotte office with two friends. They’d been living together in an abandoned house for a couple months. His…
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Getting Started
A few months ago we set out to create Pursuit Packs—portable starter kits that would allow anyone anywhere to begin earning income by selling magazine…
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In desperate need of love
I’ve had hundreds of personal encounters with people who are facing homelessness. Nearly every person who approaches us at Speak Up and reaches out to…