You Can’t Break What You Didn’t Build: Why Brandi Grayson & Urban Triage Still Stand.

1neofmani Pen
Nov 7
4 min read

By 1neofmani, LessWork Literature | We the Way, not the Wave.

When the city needs results, BG delivers. When the media needs clicks, they deliver controversy. We see the difference.

Context: News 3 Now / Channel 3000 posted that “Urban Triage expense reports to Dane County differ by more than $200,000 to its audit reports for the emergency rental assistance program.” X (formerly Twitter)+1

Questions about the framing started flying immediately, including explanations that the article appears to confuse budgeted amounts vs actual expenses reported in the audited financials. Reddit

Our stance (clear): Urban Triage is a Black-led engine for housing help, youth support, food sovereignty, and leadership training. The receipts live in the work: programs delivered, families touched, and spaces built.

The Work You Don’t See in “Gotcha” Headlines

Housing & Rental Support: Urban Triage has been a key partner in Dane County’s COVID-era rental assistance (CORE), with documentation noting $20M+ in rent/utility aid across marginalized households and system-navigation support to prevent homelessness. That’s stabilization at scale. City of Madison, WI

Youth Safety & Stability. The Emerging Adults Transitional Home gives 18–21 year-olds aging out of foster care or facing homelessness a safe home base + life-skills coaching, education and employment support, and housing navigation. That’s prevention, not just reaction.

Food Sovereignty & Black Agriculture. From Supporting Healthy Black Agriculture to farm-business development, Urban Triage trains, grows, and distributes

Putting fresh food and ag knowledge directly into community hands. (Recent updates highlight hundreds of pounds of produce reaching families.) urbantriage.org

Leadership & Family Healing. Supporting Healthy Black Families is a 12-week workgroup building personal leadership, habit change, and community resilience. That's evidence of long-game investment, not quick PR. urbantriage.org

“Receipts live in the room where change happens.”

What Community Knows (Because We Were There)

Youth Drop-In + Kickback Culture: From the Youth Drop-In Center launch to 3rd-Annual Kickback at Penn Park, Urban Triage turns events into access points, resources, joy, and visibility for youth and families.
Public recognition: Regional platforms (PBS Wisconsin’s Wisconsin Life) and local press have profiled BG’s impact, not her headlines.

“Thousands in the park; one mission in motion.”

About that “$200,000” Post…

We believe scrutiny of public dollars is fair. We also believe accuracy and proportionality matter.

The Channel 3000 social post alleges a discrepancy; access to the site is limited, but the framing has been challenged by readers pointing out likely budget vs. actual conflation in the figures cited and that the auditor-prepared report is part of the audit packet itself.
Meanwhile, the much larger body of Urban Triage’s documented service rarely leads. That imbalance is the story.

If the conversation is accountability, then let’s have it across the board with the same energy for every contractor and every line item in Dane County. Selective outrage ain’t oversight.

The Pattern We Won’t Ignore

Black women leaders in Madison have publicly described targeted harassment patterns against BG. Whether you agree with every tactic or tone, the pattern is documented and newsworthy on its own. We log it here because climate shapes coverage. Madison365+2Facebook+2

“BG: Still standing. Still building.”

LessWork’s Position (Write this down.)

We stand with Brandi Grayson and Urban Triage. We are LessWork Local Lifestyle a Madison engine for Music · Media · Marketing and we put our platforms behind Black-led initiatives, local artists, and community builders all year, not just when the timeline’s hot. (Peep our public work: showcases, community partnerships, Walk-In Wednesdays, and media we’ve used to amplify local talent and organizers.) YouTube+3Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin+3Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin+3

Our message to any outlet aiming for clicks over context:

You can’t break what you didn’t build. You can question a budget line. You should. But don’t bury the 12-week cohorts, the rental checks cut, the youth who found a bed, the produce delivered, the families who kept their keys. That’s the ledger that matters.

BG — from us to you: I got you forever. Keep doing God’s work. Easy Wins.

Until next time, "write it down, or you playing."

TIP THE TIPPERS

Written by: 1neofmani Pen

video/photo/ credit: LessWork Lens, Sited Source, Hedi

LessWork logo designs by: LessWork & Matt Nemetz of FocalFuse

Other Logos ownership: Urban Triage, Hedi

Citing Source Credits: LessWork Local Lifestyle research.

Title: "You Can’t Break What You Didn’t Build: Why Brandi Grayson & Urban Triage Still Stand."

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