Summary of organization/program
LOVE is a violence prevention organization that provides media arts and leadership workshops to youth between the ages of 13 to 19. Youth attend weekly after‐school programs, and gain leadership skills by engaging their communities and co-facilitating community workshops. During the LOVE programs youth make friends, and develop multimedia and media literacy skills. Personal experiences of violence are discussed using media arts and through experiential activities and also linked to the larger societal picture. LOVE youth in our Leadership program get opportunities to public speak, lead discussions and workshops, travel, and create change in their communities. All programs are completely free and LOVE provides bus tickets and hot meals for every session.
LOVE’s mission is to break the cycle of violence in the lives of young people and in our communities by building a team of youth leaders who communicate a message of anti-violence. We use a broad youth-driven definition of violence, which allows for issues such as self-harm, substance use, cyber-bullying (cyber-violence), physical and emotional violence, stigmatization and marginalization, as well as racism, sexism, homophobia and all other forms of intentional exclusion, to be included in our conversations about violence.
LOVE has offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax. Visit the LOVE Central website at http://leaveoutviolence.org/ for information about our other offices.
Contact information
2455 Fraser St, Vancouver BC, V5T 0E6 
Geographic region
- National
Participants
- Youth
History/Background Information
not provided
Dominant Media Forms
video production
photography
music production
literary production
theatre
live performance
multi media presentations
installations
web production
radio
fine arts
magazine
graphic design
Objectives
not provided
Statement of Principles
not provided
Strategies
Leave Out Violence (LOVE) BC is a grassroots non-profit organization. Our mission is to eliminate violence in the lives of youth and in our communities by building a team of youth who communicate a message of non-violence.
What is VIOLENCE?
LOVE’s definition of violence is: anything that causes harm to oneself or others regardless of intent which includes the acknowledgement that individual experiences are linked to systemic experiences of violence, violence could be
identified external (physical, emotional, psychological, verbal, experiential) and internal (self-harm, self-deprecation, substance use).
What is a SAFE SPACE?
At LOVE everyone works together to create an environment where everyone feels included, safe, supported to speak from their own experiences. That doesn’t mean that we don’t engage discussion, disagreements or have conflict. A safe space at LOVE means that we recognize that individual and systemic power impacts us all in different ways. As long as we acknowledge a difference of opinion while sharing common agreements and speak from our lived experiences, we can continue to support one another. As long as we are willing to be uncomfortable and challenge ourselves we can create a safe place to come to. LOVE is a family.
MAP is an after-school program for youth with multiple barriers who identify as having been affected by violence between the ages of 13 to 18. Youth work collaboratively over the course of 30 weeks to develop a variety of multimedia and media literacy skills (including: film-making, photography, music, poetry and journalism etc) to share lived experiences of violence.
Leadership:
Youth who have completed MAP graduate into Leadership Training, where they develop the skills, confidence and passion to become part of LOVE’s community violence prevention team. Leadership is a comprehensive two year program that covers a wide range of topics, and involves participatory learning. Topics explored include but are not limited to: the characteristics of leadership; understanding the causes and alternatives to violence prevention in a social context; anti-oppression; communication skills; team building and group dynamics; conflict resolution; anger management; public speaking; presentations skills; and extensive facilitation skills. These themes are all explored using a critical lens that accounts for additional systemic barriers including sexism, ageism, racism, transphobia, homophobia, classism and ableism. Youth draw on their considerable media arts skills that they have developed in the MAP program, throughout their time in Leadership.
Through the Leadership program, LOVE youth continue to develop their skills as facilitators, public speakers and leaders while promoting a message of violence prevention. Leadership youth co-facilitated all LOVE outreaches and Violence Prevention Committees throughout the time at LOVE.
Goals of LEADERSHIP:
Stories: healing from our stories
Activism: doing your internal and/or external work
Leadership: Inspiring self and others to take action
Skills: Facilitation, Leadership, Conflict Resolution
School and Community Violence Prevention Outreach Program:
LOVE Youth Leaders educate their peers, professionals, and concerned community members about violence and violence-prevention.Youth Leaders use their presentation and group facilitation skills, as well as educational tools that they have created, to examine the impact of violence and share violence-prevention strategies. Each year across Canada, Leaders educate more than 40,000 youth and community members.
LOVE Outreaches Information – thank you to Alister MacKinnon (graphic designer)
Violence Prevention Committees:
Violence Prevention Committees are established in priority communities, in elementary, middle and high schools. Youth Leaders and LOVE Staff co-facilitate these committees, which meet regularly throughout the school year, to create projects that communicate a message of non-violence to the entire student body. Examples of some of these projects are photojournalism exhibits, school newsletters, Zines, comic strips and public service announcements about violence and its prevention. The goal of these committees is to facilitate students’ ownership of the violence prevention initiative in their schools and neighborhoods.
Samples of work
Funding Sources
not provided