Many youth are often labelled and stigmatized in our communities because they are deemed as the ones who are not as practicing as others. This differentiation between the practicing and not so practicing youth has made it hard for a lot of youth to connect with their elders. These were the youth that would rush to their parents with their problems but then that one day when they told their parents that their friend offered them drugs they were yelled and screamed at. Told to never talk to that friend again. That friend was the only one that accepted them for who they were. They felt like outcasts in their own communities. So they began looking for places where they would feel accepted.
The HOPE project has implemented the Breathing Room program for youth. It will be held as a real talk series that will be happening the first sunday of each month. The first Info Session is being held on July 17 all youth are welcome to attend. We will be having an open discussion on challenges youth are facing (ie. addictions, mental health, peer pressure, depression, gangs, unemployment, etc). If youth don’t have a space in their community to comfortably discuss issues that matter to them, they will find somewhere else to go that is why this space is being open.
Although our target is Muslim youth, we do not discriminate. We welcome anyone to our programs and events regardless of faith or ethnicity.
Safe Space Coordinator
Nidha Yaqub