Sustaining a program and follow-up programming.

Copyright 2008

Sustaining a program

BluePrintForLife has delivered over 18 intensive 1-week programs to inner city youth and remote Inuit and First Nations Communities. Northern politicians have described our “Social Work Through Hiphop” program as the most significant youth engagement program in 20 years. We are also often talked about as a model for the future by the Governor General of Canada. But the question remains, how does one sustain and grow such a program.

Crucial to the success of our program is the ability for it to continue to grow in a community and become a safe and supportive environment that youth can count on.  In communities like Clyde River it has turned into a full community development program where the youth engage the Elders and help them with things like snow shoveling, and the Elders in turn support the youth and do things like sew their dance outfits for upcoming shows. Not only is there great potential for bringing generations together but this whole community model of engagement will increase the chance of a program continuing to grow.

The BluePrintForLife projects are not the answer to all the complicated social issues facing the youth of today – but it serves as an example of best practice techniques. Many of the complicated issues that effect the youth of today also require the adults in their lives being able to take a hard look at themselves and find ways of making changes in their own lives and homes . This is a huge topic for discussion at the community level and is not the focus of this document.  But in relation to what BluePrintForLife hopes to accomplish, there are some exciting things in the works. For instance, it is looking promising that a 3 year evaluation program will soon begin, sponsored by Health Canada, to help capture some of the lasting effects of our program – on the spiritual, mental and physical health of Canadian youth.

Central to our philosophy is the desire to not create a dependency on our staff or the BluePrint program – but to continue to nurture and guide the youth of the north and inner cites to grow into strong confident young leaders for tomorrow.  This means being careful along the way to partner at a grassroots level in communities and to listen carefully to the issues and concerns of that community, All of this in the context of celebrating and exploring traditional culture as a voice for youth in a modern context. But at its core, the goal is for communities to have ownership over the challenges they face and a partnership with their youth for the future.

After we complete our initial project in a community there is always a great enthusiasm to keep a Hiphop club going. This will require adults in the community to step forward to help supervise and guide this club.

Now lets get down to business and being practical ! The good news is that after every project without exception  - the energy is so high with the youth that you can’t help but be swept away thinking about the possibilities. Every community is incredibly proud and often surprised to see what their kids can do  - and many faces of Elders and parents shed tears of joy seeing their kids in a new light.  Kids that were so shy that they did not speak in school show great confidence in front of others, and known bullies and victims are witnessed working with each other as a team.  Even if Elders don’t really understand Hiphop – they are happy to see their grandchildren happy and doing something together.  Sports are great, but are not for everyone, and our program offers some real alternatives for a wide range of youth that have often been forgotten.

The bad news is that not all communities have had the same success as some others in sustaining this momentum.  (Many communities like Clyde River and Pangnirtung Nunavut have though, and we will share some of those stories)

This is what we want to talk about!  How to sustain a program. This article is not just for parents, teachers and youth leaders, but also for the youth out there that we worked with. Remember our program is about helping youth get started in taking control of their own lives.

After our recent program in Cambridge Bay we had no fewer than 3 groups of youth come to us and tell us that they wanted to start a Hiphop club. We told them that this was amazing and told them that it was entirely acceptable for them to ask teachers, parents and other adults for help and support.  (Remember things need to be driven by the youth)

Here is a simple Blueprint for success:

Adult support and a safe practice spot

 Support for the youth does not need to be a big scary commitment, but it is a commitment -just like the commitment we expect from the youth during the week of our project.  In our opinion – the ongoing adult support is the single most important factor that will determine whether or not a program continues after we leave. After spending all that money bringing us to work with your kids - the ongoing support should not be out of reach for the community, especially if the youth are saying this is something they want to continue with.

In its simplest form the youth need a safe place to meet and practice, (Ideally twice a week with dates that stay the same) with adult supervision. This is key, as it needs to stay a bully, teasing free environment, as this will start to happen if one is not careful.  High school gyms or community recreation halls need to offer free space to the youth, as the youth will likely not have the money to pay for this.

The equipment needs are simple - a sound system and a TV with a DVD player. Some adults need to commit to showing up to supervise on a regular basis.  This will be easier if there is a team of at least two or more adults willing to do this.  We also think its important for your youth to ask their parents to consider being some of these people - as to often everything falls back on the teachers to do everything. The goal is to broaden the adult support so that the community feels it has ownership of things.  A community feeling they are involved is crucial to help keep things going.

After we are done our program we actively tell the youth to ask their parents to be involved. Please consider this ! If this is something positive for your youth, you really need to support it – and it will likely re-build and strengthen your own relationship with your child. Parents being directly involved in their children’s lives is crucial and one of the strongest preventative measures in embracing life and combating youth suicide and the other destructive behaviors that youth will be drawn to.

We understand parents themselves being nervous about becoming involved in something they know little about, but this can be as simple as being the person at the Hiphop Club practice that keeps track of time, letting the youth know when its time to move on to the next activity in the practice. (Adults are also needed to be watchful for bullying and step in to prevent it if needed). After being there for some time you will no longer feel nervous about supervising and may even want to start actively participating yourself.  This would be ideal and will absolutely start building the communication between the youth and the adults in your community. In our first week project in your community we talked about taking risk and trying new things in life with the youth. This is what we are also asking of the adults in your community in them helping run the Hiphop club. This will send a strong supportive message to your kids when you become involved, that your youth absolutely matter to you and that their voice is important.

In Clyde River Meeka Paniloo was a local Inuit mom with a son interested in Hiphop. Meeka became involved in the Hiphop club and has now grown into a local youth leader and counselor. Meeka is supported by the local wellness center (Ilisaqsivik society), and has been sent on many special training courses to learn about topics like abuse counseling. This has turned into a great example of local leaders developing from Hiphop.

Giving the practice time structure

Just like we had a plan and structure to our program every day and throughout the week. Here’s a simple example so that the practice time doesn’t fall into chaos. (It can obviously be changed  -talk to the youth about how they want it structured.)  Youth will learn leadership in the Hiphop club by taking turns helping with things like the warms ups, discussions on what they hope to do etc.

  If you have a two-hour club time try this to start. (We suggest two nights a week)

 1:  20 minute warm up stretch (Your youth will remember these) - Try having different youth take turns leading this. Adults could participate and certainly walk around and make sure everyone is taking this seriously.

2: 20 minutes working on individual moves  (Adults can help keep track of time for these sections)

3: 30 minutes working in groups on routines  (For upcoming shows etc). Or try using some of the games Bgirl Lynx described in our newsletter during this time.

4: 30 minutes watching a DVD (like those left by us)

5: 10 minutes  - open dance circle (Dance Cypher) – encouraging each other to go into the circle.

6: 10 minutes warm down stretch – (again led by the youth)

Change the structure for other nights – add time to integrate throat singing, beat box, traditional drumming, and arctic sports. There will be local people in your community that you can bring in as guest to help in these areas. Also consider having guest speakers on topics like suicide, drugs and alcohol, reaching out for help etc.

Not everyone wants to be a dancer – people can contribute to the Hiphop club in many ways. Remember Hiphop has other elements like Graffiti Art (not vandalism), Rap, BeatBox, Djing and Fashion.

Why not come up with your own Hiphop fashion that represents your community and who you are. Have a contest to design your clubs tee shirt, or carve your crews name out of caribou antler to wear around your neck. We have seen some amazing native bling (Beadwork medallions with Hiphop and first nations symbolism).  In Clyde River some youth even created a book for younger kids with a positive social messages that is being published. Be creative!

Coming up with goals and expectations for your clubs members

You will want to be clear on the rules of joining and being a part of the Hiphop Club.

It’s important that everyone talks about these and agrees on them upfront. So it can be very clear to everyone what is expected. This is exactly the same thing we did with everyone on the first day of our initial program.  These are things the adults can help direct  -but youth also need to take responsibility for.

Some suggested ideas that could be discussed at your first meeting are things like:

1: No bullying or teasing

2: Hiphop is for everyone –regardless of ability

3: Everyone is to respect each others opinions and listen when other speak

4: People are not to come to Hiphop Club drunk or stoned.

5; People need to show up on time and participate actively –not just hang out.

6: Only healthy snacks allowed etc.

You may also want to later consider things like needing to attend school if youth are still enrolled in school.  These should be discussed with an open mind during the first few club gatherings and its okay to add more rules and expectations as you move forward.

Plan towards some shows

Many communities had the youth work towards performing at the Christmas show or local festivals that are coming up. There are also often opportunities to perform for Elders at the Elders Lodge etc. (The Clyde River youth performed for the Canadian Army when they came to town)

 Having something to work towards like this will continue to build the youths confidence and keep them focused on building routines and expanding their own creativity. It also keeps the youth connected to the larger community. Setting achievable goals like this is an example of how to slowly build leaders for tomorrow. Young people need to believe things are possible with hard work and effort and that these efforts are recognized and applauded by others.

Pick a club name, fund raise and get crew tee shirts made

This will make youth feel connected to each other and proud of what they are becoming. In Cambridge Bay a local business at the final show offered to financially support the youth’s new Hiphop club so this is realistic.  Meet as a group and talk about how the youth can organize themselves to ask others for such help and support. Why not put on a performance and ask for donations towards creating these club tee shirts.

Consider your club coming to other Hiphop events

The first long weekend in Sept in Ottawa every year is “Cypher North”  -one of Canada’s largest breakdancing events.  For the past two years we have had youth who attended our projects in the North come as our guest and also perform.  This is a big road trip and travel is costly  - but it’s a great experience and something big to work towards. It’s a concrete thing to fund raise towards and a great way of rewarding the youth who have shown exceptional commitment in keeping things going. In Clyde River these youth were considered if they showed up regularly – practiced hard, and showed leadership with others. The youth candidates were narrowed down, and then the Elders picked the final youth by judging a dance battle. (Great way to keep Elders a part of things) For something like this good adult chaperones are a must. The Clyde River group also recently performed in Ottawa for the National Aboriginal Day celebrations, as well as for the Governor General of Canada. This was a road trip they will never forget.

Give back to the community

If you give to the community - they will give back and support you. It’s as simple as that.  Its one thing to do shows and entertain  -but why not take it a step further.  In Clyde River the Hiphop club has a snow-shoveling program to help Elders. How cool is that!  The Elders are also given time to speak to the youth at Hiphop practice and participate during follow-up workshops.  There is great potential for the older youth as they become more confident, to also teach younger youth in the community. This could even turn into a possible paid job. Maybe you will develop the skills to become the recreation coordinator someday. Believe it or not the younger kids will look up to the youth in the Hiphop club so you have a responsibility to be a positive role model to them. Why not use the Hiphop club to be thevoice from the youth when representatives are needed in local meetings around suicide prevention etc.

Keep track of your successes

The adults can help with this  - keep attendance of who shows up to the practices. Also try to monitor things like youth staying in school. Youth quitting smoking etc.   These types of things will make it easier to get funding in the future to support what you are doing.  (The Gov’t wants to know these types of things)  

If you hear things like certain youth are not doing drugs anymore or reductions in things like gas sniffing from the public health  -make sure you make a note of this. We have often heard from local RCMP that there has been reductions in youth crime and court appearances. Make sure comments like this are noted and ask for letters from these people to support you. The Clyde River program has lots of great examples of this that we can forward for you to see.

Tell your story

 The local media will support you but you need to let the radio and newspaper know what is going on. Every time the youth get recognized for their efforts it will help encourage them to continue. Take pictures of what you do and let the papers know!

 Why not consider building a website for your club or creating a video on what you are doing.

Tell Blueprint your story. We want to talk about it in our newsletter to celebrate what you are doing and inspire Hiphop clubs in other communities. Send us pictures and short updates on performances, what’s going on in your club, how many youth attend etc. It will help make everyone feel a part of the world’s larger Hiphop community if we share with each other. These can be sent to Info@BluePrintForLife.ca

Connect with other communities

 How cool would a dance battle be between Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay – or between Clyde River and Iqaluit. We hope to be able to publish contact people for the Hiphop clubs in every community.  If you were visiting friends or family somewhere else – how cool would it be to connect with the club in another hamlet and attend their practice?  Who knows, maybe some larger Hiphop conferences can be developed for the future that bring youth from many remote communities together. Meeka Paniloo who runs the local Hiphop club in Clyde River would be a great resource to talk to in terms of things that have worked for their community. Why not consider having some of the youth leaders from there come to your community to work with BluePrint on a follow-up program.

Expanding Your Cultural Content

There are great opportunities to use the Hiphop Club to engage and explore traditional culture – in ways like we did during our first week program with your youth. Local artist, musicians, dancers, athletes, etc, will likely be very supportive if asked. Remember Hiphop is about finding your own over your art and your expression of it. Try telling traditional stories through your dance, finding your own movement to symbolize this. The Clyde River Sea Slugs had a dream road trip to Ottawa recently where they performed to a standing ovation at the National Museum of Civilization.  This was a show they created entirely themselves, full of stories like a hunter meeting a polar bear on the land and returning home to a celebration after being lost in a storm.

Keep in touch with BluePrintForLife

 We have a great website with lots of pictures. http://BluePrintForLife.ca . Ask us for opinions on what you are doing. Tell us about how you have quit smoking or drinking pop.  Let us know that your bum spin has now become a backspin!  Remember we really do consider all of you part of our bigger family.

There is also a Facebook group created called Blueprint for Life (Inuit B-boys and B-girls) which is a great way of making new friends and staying in touch with the BluePrint team.

Follow-up Programs

Its one thing to keep a Hiphop club going  -but its also important to keep setting new goals with activities and workshops that will keep young people developing in their own skills and confidence. One should consider not only skills that help keep youth safe and healthy in their lives, but also programming to help them attain the skills needed to be the leaders for tomorrow. We have returned to some communities like Clyde River over the past few years with a number of follow-up programs and continue to develop programming that supports the ongoing empowerment of their youth.  One of these programs was called “Leadership Through Hiphop” - which was developed in cooperation with Jake Gearheard (Director of the local wellness center in Clyde River - Ilisaqsivik Society)

Youth leaders in training from Pond Inlet and Pangnirtung were brought to Clyde River to participate in growing in their leadership skills. Not only were new dance skills developed to also keep it fun, but we also taught the art of dance creation and how to respect and develop each other’s ideas in telling a story through dance. Youth were challenged to work together in a variety of team building exercises and trust building games. Evening sessions were focused on role playing in local real life situations that they may well encounter, with workshops exploring the concepts of leadership, the skills required, and how this may be different in terms of their culture. Elders were involved in all of the evening sessions and also brought in to teach traditional dances to the youth. Other workshops were offered on music creation and how to capture local sounds from the environment and Elder’s voices. These sound clips were then used in the music that the youth created. Other workshops focused on how to teach others. Younger youth were brought in so that the Hiphop club could try this out with BluePrint staff standing back, but supporting them. Real life practice at being a leader.

The programming was fun – but always focused on empowering the youth and helping them recognize that growing into a strong leader is a process that can start when they are young and continue throughout their lives.  Issues such as Drugs and Alcohol, Suicide, Sexual Abuse, Bullying and Violence were looked at again  - but also in the context of how to be leader on such issues and supportive of each other around these difficult topics.

Follow-up programming in Clyde River involved a team of 5 working for 5 full days –whereas smaller amounts of follow-up have taken place in communities like Pangnirtung and Cambridge Bay Nunavut, with teams of 2 from Blueprint returning to work with the local Hiphop clubs.

Follow-up conferences or Arctic Hiphop Summits are being looked at for regions like Nunavik and the Baffin Island region in Nunavut, where small groups of youth would be invited with chaperones from past projects and communities to work with each other on building networks and leadership. Such proposals are being looked at for something in Clyde River and Puvirnituq in March of 2009

Please contact Buddha at Steve@BluePrintForLife.ca if you are interested in looking at a follow-up program for your community. Costing will vary depending on the programming being offered.

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