“What happens to a dream deferred?” Must it “dry up,” “sag,” or “explode?” When creative expression is cultivated and recognized, homeless people are given the opportunity to live their dreams.

When she lost her job and moved her family into a shelter, Roxanne Hill was concerned about her twin sons’ dreams. The boys were behind in school, bothered by teasing, and hanging around with nothing to do—until they became involved in BuildaBridge’s drama program. Their mother noticed increased maturity and pride, and better grades.

Roxanne has shared in her sons’ experiences with BuildaBridge, she was with them “one hundred percent.” She attended every event, trip, and skit. Roxanne’s commitment earned her a mother of the year award and a seat on the BuildaBridge board. Her participation helped her obtain a new job and an apartment. In the words of BuildaBridge president Dr. Nathan J. Corbitt, Roxanne and her boys “were given [both] a vision for their future,” and “help understanding their identity and talents.”

The Young Dreamerz, fourteen current or former residents of the People’s Emergency Center (PEC), have been given a similar vision. By the end of the PEC summer program they had gone from listening to music to writing, arranging, and recording an album, School of Hip-Hop. PEC Counselor Kerby Garcia says, “[t]here were times … [the] kids would come in angry for whatever reason, and just didn’t want to be bothered, but as soon as I put on a beat he/she would say, ‘OK Mr. Kerby, can I write about being mad?' … and what do you know, we’d come up with a new song.”

Robert Bullock, the founder and director of Coalition Ingenu, used to believe that the coalition’s work was similar to the Young Dreamerz program. It was important because it provided opportunities for expression. But then, he says, “I came to realize that many of the truly creative and motivated people with whom we were working had been making art long before we came along.” Coalition Ingenu helps artists see a project through to completion, giving them a powerful sense of purpose and self-worth. As it says on Coalition Ingenu’s website, when a person’s art is displayed in a legitimate show, “the social stigmas surrounding circumstances of poverty … are diminished and the artists are transformed into self-motivated and valued participants in a respected cultural tradition.”

In the early 1990s, one program in Philadelphia attempted to effect just such a transformation. Years after it ended, the program’s founder wrote that it “remains a good idea, but a dream deferred.” But now, because of the work of other programs throughout Philadelphia that dream has not been deferred.