Dancing to freedom through Gladstone Street Dreams program
Four months ago The Salvation Army in Gladstone, Central Queensland, launched the popular Street Dreams program. The program, which started in Sydney, is a holistic outreach for young people involving hip-hop dance classes and youth mentoring in partnership with Musicians Making a Difference and the Salvos Youth Foundation.
A QGC Communities Fund grant of $50,000 helped launch the program in Gladstone, which Lieutenant Chris Ford said came at a crucial time. “In Gladstone about 800 people a month have been losing their jobs,” he says. “The community as a whole has changed as a result, now with many at-risk youth. The whole idea of the program is to make connections with these young people and their families. It is a completely free program, made possible because of QGC Community funding.”
Averaging 15 to 20 teenagers a week, aged 12-17, the classes are filled with encouragement. The program, which is overseen by Lieut Ford, begins with a mentoring session which enables the Salvos youth workers to help the teens build resilience to life’s challenges. This is followed by an energetic hip-hop dance class. As hip-hop has no “perfect” body image, as with other more formal styles of dance, the dance class itself builds into the young peoples’ self-esteem as they can come just as they are, with no pressure to conform. The program provides stability for at-risk teens in a safe and positive environment.
Street Dreams has given the Gladstone corps officers a non-threatening place to meet youth and their parents. They are then able to connect these families to other Salvos programs where needed.
Recently Street Dreams aired on local TV, with one of the Salvos youth workers being nominated as a local hero for his work in the area. The Street Dreams students are also preparing to perform at a Christmas community event.
“Our priority is to show the youth that they are valued, to build them up and give them strength. Many come from difficult homes so this is an opportunity to show them that they are loved and they are cared for. The program works,” Lieut Ford says.
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