Sha-Anne

"You’ve been shot? You’ve been locked up? We have people in our group who have gone through that too."

A young guy was shot as I was making my way outside one day. I stepped through his blood as I quickly tried to avoid the gunshots bouncing around the stairwell. Then there was the time a bullet came through my bedroom window – the time one narrowly missed my sister, instead piercing the friend standing next to her as they played hopscotch – or the fact that my brother is locked up. Things like that impacted me a lot. But being a member of the PLC for the last 3 years has really helped me. I used to stutter and get my words mixed up, but the program has given me the strength to express myself better. The confidence I now have has helped me develop my vocabulary and overcome my stuttering. Now I regularly stand up and speak in front of crowds. I’ve come so far. And so can our community. This program is about teens talking to teens. Teens don’t necessarily listen to adults. We’ve been through the stuff they’re going through. We say, “You’ve been shot? You’ve been locked up? We have people in our group who have gone through that too." The PLC has helped me find myself. It has helped me to be calm – to be a listener, observant. I want our work to help spread that across our community.