Philly Phone Project brings community conversations to Baltimore’s Graffiti Alley

In the middle of Graffiti Alley off of N. Howard Street in east Baltimore, a line formed around an old-school phone — not to make a call, but to say what people have been carrying.

Dan Horan said he started the Philly Phone Project, known as @RealFallRisk on Instagram, as a social experiment meant to bring back a sense of community.

He said people can pick up the phone and “just talk about anything,” and he came to address what he described as some community ills while talking with the city of Baltimore.

For many, the phone became a place to speak directly to grief and loss.

“Most people come and share their deepest condolences for long lost loved ones,” Horan said.

One person’s message was simple: “Mommy. I miss you.”