GirlsGetThingsDone: Activism with Community Bridges

GirlsGetThingsDone: Activism with Community Bridges
Local teens take on bullying, homeless youth, and immigration

In January, MissHeard Media hosted two activism workshops with Silver Spring middle schools in conjunction with Community Bridges, a local girls’ empowerment program.

Community Bridges leaders picked topics, and MissHeard provided a multitude of research, and a list of leaders they could reach out to. Girls picked their own issues, chose their own positions, and developed their own campaigns, including PSAs, letters to leaders, and social media posts.

Here are the results of the girls’ hard work and dedication!

Group 1: GirlPower! Yanireth, Arlett, Britney and Ashley
Issue: Youth Homelessness
Shocking fact: LGBTQ teens are most likely to be homeless. Also, a large percentage of homeless teens are pregnant.
PSA:

Team Girl Power also wrote a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser:

Dear Mayor Bowser,

Help! Every day, 1.7 million teens are homeless. We need you to step up and make a change. Homeless youth are being bullied, and even abused by their families. They are abandoned, abused, or rejected because of their sexuality.

Families can be separated in shelters Can you allocate money to help homeless teens? They deserve to only worry about school, not where they will sleep at night.

Thank you,
Yanireth, Arlett, Britney and Ashley

Group 2: Immigrant’s Daughters. Yisel, Roberta, Ishia, Mara, Briana
Issue: Immigration
Interesting fact: 42.4 million Americans are immigrants.

PSA:

Social media hashtags to share your story: #letmyfamilystay, #equalstatus, #noborders.

Group 3: Melina, Yessica, Yesenia, Andrea
Issue: Bullying
Social Media Hashtag: #seesomethingsaysomething

Letter to their principal:
Dear Ms. Bryant,

We have been concerned about the amount of bullying in school. Did you know that 75% of school shootings have been linked to bullying against the shooter? Also, bullying has been linked to depression and suicide. It would be helpful if you could help our school address bullying.

Sincerely,
Melina, Yessica, Yesenia and Andrea

Group 4: Housing For Youth! Alanna, Djedje, Violeta, Olga
Issue: Youth Homelessness
Letter to Mayor of Baltimore:

Today, we bring to you the problem of homeless youth in Baltimore. Over 60% of homeless teens are asked to leave by their parents or they tell their parents they are leaving and their parents don’t care. Homeless youth are more likely to end up in jail because they have to steal essentials like tampons/pads, food, and clothing. These are things they are entitled too and shouldn’t have to steal.

Nearly 1 in 5 children have run away at least once. Then, some children are in denial. Many African-American youth don’t call themselves homeless, they just use a neighbor or relative’s address while couch surfing or sleeping in a car.

Most homeless youth are homeless because of family problems, economic problems or housing instability. This isn’t their fault, so help us help them. They deserve to be put on a right path. Help this issue go viral by using the hashtag #housingfortheyouth. Please donate to a local shelter or create a fundraiser to help our youth.
Thank you,
Alanna, Djedje, Violeta, Olga

Group 5: Meron, Jennifer, Anya,Chelsea
Issue: Immigration
Surprising fact: Nearly 17.5 million children under the age of 17 have one parent who is an immigrant.

Dear President Trump,
This letter is to inform you of some pros of an idea you disagree with: immigration. Most of our country is made of immigrants and it is a country where immigrants seek a better future. Immigrants do a lot for this country and they work in your hotels and in your restaurants. Maybe it seems like they are not important, but they make up a big part of America.

Thank you, Meron, Jennifer, Anya,Chelsea.

On Twitter, people can tag President Trump and share pro-immigration tweets and stories using the hashtag #proimmigration.

Group 6: Girls with a Voice: Ruth, Emelly, Jacqueline
Issue: Immigration
Speech/PSA:

We are Girls with a Voice and we are passionate about educating our community about immigration.

People immigrate for many reasons, but some of the most common reasons are: to escape persecution based on race/religion/nationality/politics, to escape poverty, conflict or violence, displacement due to environmental change or disaster, to seek better healthcare or education, to reunite a family, get married, or just because!

In order to address the issue in our community, we need you to spread the word, tell everyone. Educate yourself on how immigration affects your community. Tweet with #keepfamiliestogether #immigrantsareimportant, #wehaverightstoo and #changeimmigrationlaws.

Unlock the potential of your community to create change, contact us today!

Interested in hosting an activism workshop for your group? Contact us!

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