Robert Warren, a part-time poet and full-time advocate, says the brothers in Miriam’s Kitchen gave him a voice—from art therapy to the advocacy team. He is a co-director of the People for Fairness Coalition and a board member and speaker advocate for the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH). He is also a Street Sense vendor, contributor of poetry and news articles, and founding member of the FACE group (for Focus, Attitude, and Commitment to Excellence). Robert also sits on the Steering Committee of the Way Home Campaign and served as an Advocacy Fellow in 2019. 

“For me, I believe it starts with folks being adequately housed. Then you have resources to meet people where they’re at.” As a poet, Robert shares these lines:  

“Washington, D.C. is home for me,” Robert says. “I can go all over the city and see someone I know.” He grew up in Northeast. Montana Terrace was his first public housing. Then his family was homeless. His mom was a single mom, struggling. “Math has always been my best subject,” he says. “There’s always been those hidden obstacles, ancestral racism. And even though you might have certain abilities, a lot of the time you never get to reach that full potential.” His daughter, Tamia, wants to be a math teacher.