Chicago — When you think of a typical town hall meeting what comes to mind? Well, when it came to the Sacred Ground Ministries Annual Teen Town Hall Meeting, the words informative, support, and community are just a few that could be used.
Taking place at Hirsch High School, this was the 10th Annual Teen Town Hall Meeting, led by Founder and Project Director of Sacred Ground Ministries, Mary Long. Sacred Ground Ministries is an anti-violence organization that promotes peace, social consciousness, and community awareness. In 2012, they partnered with Hirsch Metropolitan High School. While in partnership they have initiated mentoring programs, restorative justice, student workshops, parent forums, Teen Town Hall sessions, parent and teacher appreciation programs, scholarships, assistance with the establishment of a new Student Council, anti-violence marches and rallies, and more.
According to Long, the endgame is to do something now so that young lives and communities don’t get worse later. “My son was killed in this community and it really hurt my heart. Over the past two years we have had over 700 murders in each year and that’s unacceptable.” Long added, “The goal is to prevent violence before it happens. We want to be proactive, not reactive…we want to get to the root of violence.”
This guest post is in partnership with True Star Media.