It’s Warrior Writers’ 10th anniversary. Celebrate by listening to this veteran’s emotional poem

“Around the Corner” is a PhillyCAM show that offers local social impact leaders the opportunity to share what impact their work is having on the Philadelphia area. 

Warrior Writers, the arts nonprofit that serves veterans through writing workshops, retreats and conferences, is celebrating its 10th birthday this year.

Calica was inspired to start Warrior Writers after sharing her own writing with the veterans in her life and realizing they had their own stories to tell — stories of trauma, of mental illness.

“I thought to myself, ‘This has to get out there, and people have to hear this,'” she said. “We don’t hear from service members and soldiers, and we need to, so that we know what’s going on.”

Calica received a grant from the Leeway Foundation to host her first workshop, and from there, the project bloomed into a national organization.

For her “Around the Corner” interview with Generocity Editor Julie Zeglen, Calica brought along Toni Topps, an artist and Warrior Writers facilitator, who shared her poem, “The Cost of Freedom.”

Hear it below.

PhillyCAM is Comcast channel 66/966 HD/967 and Verizon FIOS channel 29/30 in Philadelphia.