Indianapolis Social Justice Advocate & Poet Writes About Mental Health

Aisha Tariqa Abdul Haqq wants you to know that you are not immune to homelessness, because almost no-one is. In her new poetry collection, she sets about breaking down barriers and stereotypes while weaving captivating words that you won’t want to put down.Her semi-autobiographical debut, titled ‘Four Years in Chrysalis', channels her experiences of homelessness and displacement throughout half of her childhood and the first few years of her adulthood, and charts her subsequent struggle with mental illness.The release coincides with the latest sobering statistics from the National Conference of State Legislatures. They reveal that an estimated 4.2 million youth and young adults experienced homelessness last year, of which 700,000 were unaccompanied minors, meaning that they were both homeless and without any parental figure.Moreover, the same study showcased that 69% of homeless youth report having mental health problems, emphasizing the strong overlap between this rampant social issue and a host of other lifelong challenges. Having experienced both homelessness and depression, Aisha Tariqa has become a passionate advocate for change, and she believes that poetic expression is a path towards greater empathy for readers like you, and to a more powerful, shared approach to tackling these problems. She hopes that with the release of her debut collection she can encourage you to reflect on your perceptions of the homeless in relation to yourself. She argues that you may think that you are immune to homelessness. However, as a report from EndHomelessness.org showcased, during the COVID-19 quarantine years, much of America is in fact just one missed wage away from this fate. As such, through ‘Four Years in Chrysalis' she hopes to combat the pervasive conflation of homelessness with dirtiness and immorality. Through her words, she believes you will understand that people experiencing homelessness are as human as you are. One powerful extract from her debut on this theme is included below. “Through the apocalypseGlimmers of hope are caughtLike tears in a bucketOr a snowflake on the tongueFleetingWe were forewarnedBy the worn cardboardIn the homeless man’s lapAmplified by the number of street corners able to provide shelter from stinging windAnd from rain that blasts sideways through crevicesPlus one more evening aloneDirt of the EarthCrust of my eyeShadows rise groaningHidden by the cascading darkness of my eastern sideSun settingArm outstretched, contents hiddenSounds like a zombie movie, right?That all he wants is a piece of your brainA question answeredConsideration of humanityAnd maybe some alms givenWe do not differentiate between the two night walkersBoth are beggars, right?We fast-pace stepPast their languid gaitWe do not see that sometimes the only difference between a warm home and a cold streetIs one person who caresAnd if you could look in the mirrorReflect loneliness on a dark cornerI wonder if you would ask for helpOr cast yourself off as the scum of the Earth”Aisha Tariqa Abdul Haqq is an up-an-coming young poet from Indianapolis. Through her poetry she aims to address and heal a range of social ills including homelessness, inequality and poor mental health. You can follow her incredible poetic and advocacy work on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at @AishaTariqa.A spokesperson for the poet said, “Aisha Tariqa also encourages readers to make eye contact with their neighbor who inhabits the pavement and to share a smile -- even such a small gesture will do wonders for the morale of those who find themselves down and out. As lack of money is not a character flaw, but a condition, Aisha Tariqa hopes that readers will consider altering their discernment and share a bit of themselves with their neighbor who lacks most things but does possess a heart that can be touched with kindness, and a mind that can be eased with goodwill."If you’ve been looking for poetry that says something truly important, look no further than ‘Four Years in Chrysalis'.Visit the website in the description to discover more of her work and to see how poetry can help you to also become a powerful voice for change.