Did you hear the one about the single mom who not only overcame her addiction, but found a way to keep her family together and her kids out of the foster care system? SPOILER ALERT—she also found a way to keep LOTS of other families together; and now, she’s working full-time for the organization that saved her life and her family. In other words, Lenzy Phillips is one more person on a long list of People You Should Know….
The organization is called T.A.C.T., which stands for Teaching the Autism Community Trades. The genius behind this movement is Danny Combs, and what he’s accomplished so far is nothing short of extraordinary.
Thousands of veterans take their own lives every year, and a myriad of bottom-up solutions have helped these troubled men and women. But no one has come close to the success rate currently enjoyed by Black Horse Forge, and the man behind it, Steve Hotz. Over 22,000 vets have come through Black Horse Forge, many as battered and broken as Steve once was. As of today, there have been zero suicides.
Judaline is a plumber, working out of Local Union #1 in Long Island City, the oldest plumber’s union in the country. But she’s more than a 4’9” firecracker with a 10-foot personality from Trinidad and Tobago — she’s also the force behind Tools and Tiaras, a non-profit that exposes young girls to the opportunities in the trades while showing them just how far a person can go with a decent work ethic and the mastery of a useful skill.
Miss Maze is probably not going to increase the overall literacy rate in Baltimore. Then again, she might, because Miss Maze is doing something the people in charge are not. She’s trying to get kids interested in books at a young age. And she’s doing it not too far from where the show The Wire was filmed, with elaborate costumes, relentless optimism, and a genuine affection for the people who live in Baltimore.
