Hope

A group of youth between 11 and 14 years gather in the McQueston neighbourhood of Hamilton every week to discuss the conditions of their neighbourhood and ways to contribute to its advancement. The group began with a few individuals who decided that all of their friends from the neighborhood should have the benefit of these sorts of discussions and that they too would benefit from hearing from their peers. The group now engages 30 youth from the neighbourhood and continues to grow.

At the end of September, the youth dedicated a weekend to serving their neighbourhood together. One of the evenings focused on nurturing their artistic abilities. In a workshop on the spoken word, a discussion about how young females are viewed gave way to an inspiring discussion of how they wish to be viewed. This spoken-word piece was created that evening.