A little inspiration goes a long way

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/12/2016 (3238 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

St. James Collegiate students were inspired on Dec. 14 after listening to a presentation by activist Michael Champagne.

Champagne, founder of Aboriginal Youth Opportunities, has been going from school to school to help the city come together to tackle issues like homelessness, violence, crime, gang activity, and the lack of youth employment.

“What hit home for me was that he told us, ‘We are the solution’,” said 16-year-old Jay Buhr. “We are the next generation and we need to start fixing these issues to make our communities stronger and better.”

She witnessed the impact of violence first-hand when her home was shot up by people joy-riding in the back lane, she said.

“I was OK, the bullet went through the window,” she said. “But it’s scary to see people using violence for fun.”

Buhr said she’s moved since, but there is still violence and gang activity near St. James Collegiate and across Winnipeg, and wants to see that change.

“There’s not much violence or known gang activity at school, so I feel safe here, but outside of here is a different story,” she added. “Violence and drugs don’t just come from the West End or the North End and more of us need to be aware of that.”

During his presentation, Champagne talked about how children as young as 11 years old used to run around near the Merchants Hotel on Selkirk Avenue with machetes and how bad drug dealing got in the area.

Nearing the end of the presentation, one student piped up yelling, “Violence is everywhere!”
Champagne agreed with the student and stressed how communities need to work together to curb and fight against violence and other issues affecting the entire province.

Renée Daniels, 17, said she is concerned about the state of homelessness in the city and the province, and became more aware of how severe the situation is after the presentation.

“It’s one thing I would love to do for work,” she said. “There are tons of abandoned buildings that the city is doing nothing with, even though they could let people make more shelters or housing for the homeless.”

Daniels said she was empowered after Champagne’s speech because she feels bad for homeless people who have died or could die due to living on the streets at all times of the year.

“It’s not fair to them, they have families but you just see them walking around almost aimlessly,” she added. “We can’t just give them money or a snack when we see them on the streets because it’s not enough.”

Daniels is part of the Indigenous and Allies group at her school, which is a student organization that talks about these kinds of issues along with Indigenous issues too.

Members from the group introduced Champagne before his speech.

Daniels said she was excited about his presentation and hopes more students join student-led groups that help shape relationships and communities.