“When I feel my energy is off or I’m feeling drained or just so much is going on, I need to get to the beach. That’s where I ground myself and I’m at my most happiest place being there,” says Lyntaga Smith.E. E. Cummings said, “For whatever we lose (like a you or a me) … Read more
“They don’t have a beach; we have a beach,” says Henrietta Shelton in a voice full of emotion as she speaks to an attentive audience at the Stockton University Atlantic City campus during a rainy April morning. “They don’t have the Atlantic Ocean; they don’t have a boardwalk. So what are we missing?” In this … Read more
May marks the 70th anniversary of Mental Health Awareness Month, a national event fighting stigma, providing support, educating the public and advocating for policies that help people with mental illness and their families.Over the years, community leaders in Atlantic City have worked toward responding to mental illness. In February, Indra Owens partnered with the Leadership … Read more
Jodi Burroughs’ footsteps echo in the empty halls as she walks to her office at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School Complex in Atlantic City. The usually bustling school, decorated with multicolored murals and photographs of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is quiet on a recent Thursday morning. It is spring … Read more
At 3 o’clock on a Thursday afternoon, Atlantic City’s Sovereign Avenue skatepark, affectionately nicknamed “Back Sov,” truly comes to life. Walking his dog around the park, Zach Katzen watches as dozens of children flood down the street after school dismissal, racing to the skate ramps with boards in hand. Katzen, program director of the Atlantic City … Read more