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What is the meaning of home? For Jared, a homeless NYC youth, it means surviving the streets on their own day in and day out. Each day they struggle to find the motivation to stay positive and attempt to connect with a city that fails to recognize them. The burden of living on the streets is even heavier as they watch other youth experience violence, abuse, betrayal and heartbreak. Will Jared find peace and a place to belong or will the streets claim his and his peers’ futures?

The Possibility Project is proud to present Home Street Home, an original musical drama written and performed by a diverse group of NYC youth involved in the justice system. For the past several months, our young people have gathered twice a week after school, talking, acting, dancing, and singing about the most serious issues they face in their lives. Soon, all of their hard work will be put on stage at the Frank Shiner Theatre at the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, 18 Bleecker Street in downtown Manhattan.

What do Trevor Noah, Kamala Harris, and The Possibility Project have in common? We’re all Anthem Award finalists!

That’s right! The 2020 Saturday Cast’s “WHY LOVE” Podcast is officially a finalist for the Anthem Awards in the “Education, Art, & Culture – Best Local Community Engagement” category!

The Anthem Awards, The Webby Awards’ newest initiative, was developed to recognize the breadth of social good work (online and offline) around the globe by honoring the organizations, brands, and people creating long-lasting impact. Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet.

The coronavirus pandemic had just hit when The Possibility Project was developing “WHY LOVE.” Converting our live musical into a podcast was challenging, but the determination of the 2020 Saturday Cast made it possible. And look at how far it’s come! We’re so proud of our youth, our organization, and the impact of our work on our communities.

Winners for the inaugural Anthem Awards will be announced on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, and celebrated at the first annual Anthem Voices virtual conference and a star-studded virtual Awards Show on Monday, February 28, 2022. Fans will be able to watch the virtual show on-demand, featuring special moments and hallmark speeches from all the winners at www.anthemawards.com.

A lot of young people are afraid to speak up on how they feel about certain things—me too, sometimes. A lot of what happens to us is not fair and nobody deserves it. Especially as a teenager, it’s very hard to talk about it because you feel like you’re going to be judged by the adults in your life. 

When I joined The Possibility Project, it was before the pandemic. I felt very close with everyone from the beginning. I really felt like we were becoming a family when we shared the stories of our lives. Everybody was there for each other, trying to support one another, even though we were so different and everybody was emotional. We told each other everything and we felt trust with each other. It is very hard to find trust like that. 

When the pandemic put us on lockdown, I was very anxious because I have a lot of people in my family who have pre-existing conditions, including myself, so I was very worried about them. I was also overwhelmed with school going virtual and a lot of the other random changes that nobody in the world was prepared for. Going to rehearsals online on Saturdays helped me forget about all of that stuff for a little bit and just focus on being there with my friends and doing something I love. When we were struggling, we were able to talk about it with each other because we felt comfortable. That was something that I was lucky to have throughout the lockdown—especially because in virtual school I wasn’t able to talk to my friends much.

I decided to come back again this year because this program has made me so happy. I have been able to speak about my own experiences and what I want to change in the world through our shows. We wrote them ourselves, which was a fun and unique experience. I hope our shows will make people who are in similar positions as us feel less alone. Sometimes when you are going through a lot of struggles, you feel like you are the only one and there’s nobody that understands you. When I was younger, I would have loved to have more podcasts, music videos, and tv shows, where I felt really connected to it, and that’s how I feel with the two shows I have worked on with The Possibility Project.

I think people should support The Possibility Project because this program gives young people the opportunity to express themselves, to learn more about the performing arts, and get other opportunities, like free SAT prep. More importantly, we get to create a family and be around a big group of people who are all very supportive and loving toward one another, and we get to change the world together. 

I hope you will continue to support our virtual programs. I have loved my experience in the virtual Saturday Program, and I wouldn’t be the same without it.

In 2021, “I Need Hope,” a music video written and performed by young people in the The Possibility Project’s Youth Justice Program, became an official selection for three awards and sixteen festivals.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/plvIm3eDy2o

We cannot say it enough—THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! We are beyond grateful for our community’s generous support of our Mission Possible 2021 campaign.

Together, we raised a total of $52,854 in only ten days. We met our goal and unlocked all of our Match Challenges. Because of your support, we can now sustain our virtual programs and keep our community safe as we safely transition out of the pandemic.

WE SEE YOU, WE APPRECIATE YOU and because of YOU, we will be able to continue to empower more young people to write their own story.

Thank you from all of us at The Possibility Project.

We recently sat down to talk to some of our participants about their experience in our new virtual programs. Justin is a second-year participant in our Youth Justice Program. As a returning participant, he helped to adapt our programs from in-person to virtual and from writing and performing a musical live on stage to creating, filming, and editing a web series online.

Q: What has your experience been like so far in our program? What has your favorite part of it been?

A: The connection between the cast is still there, even though we are now doing the program virtually. I really did want to be in person with everybody else and have those same moments—you know, get my three hugs after rehearsal, play circle improv, and whatnot—but I still feel like I am able to build those same connections. And the connections feel extremely genuine to me. It’s good for us to be meeting other young, talented people who care about the world, and just to be meeting people in general.

I like learning about music and film and the software used to edit them. I like working on a bunch of different scenes that come from completely weird, different places. Some scenes are completely outrageous and then others are really deep and serious—just being able to have that range and experience with a bunch of different people, those are my favorite parts.

Q: What are you most excited to see/do in this program?

A:  We are creating a web series based on our experiences and how we think things can change, and I am excited to begin working on it. I feel like it is a huge project that will resonate with a lot of people. It’s so interesting how everybody can develop creative work, even when we feel like we have nothing to work with, something just clicks, and we build off each other’s ideas.

Q: Why do you think this project will resonate with people?

A: Its overall message of “you’re not alone” will resonate, especially now with the lack of interaction. This is the first time anybody, at least most people I know, have gone through anything like this. We are all going through it, and we can all help each other get through.

Q: What has it been like working with your peers virtually?

A: Even though there’s no physical interaction, it’s still that same fun, joking, kind of getaway. But then also, it’s a place where you don’t have to just escape, you can actually dive into whatever problems you have going on. Working with everybody is really fun, we start off doing activities or games.

There’s a lot of care in the atmosphere. When we write scenes and talk about our different experiences, we see that there’s a lot that we have in common. It helps build a real sense of connection because it doesn’t seem like we are from completely different worlds, even if we are.

Q: Why do you think it’s important for you and your peers to be around like-minded people right now?

A: I am getting ready to go to college and things are looking extremely different than I expected or dreamed of. I think it’s important for people to be around like-minded people because then you know you are not alone. It reminds you to take it one step at a time and that there are people you can reach out to, you don’t have to just keep it all in.

Q: What was your experience writing “I Need Hope?” How do you feel about the finished product?

A: Writing it was really, really fun. I liked getting to know everybody that was on the project. I always wanted to produce something with this group of people, and when we did, it was really fun. Everybody really cared about it and helped make something I think is going to spread a big message.

We recently sat down to talk with Miguel Ortiz, the film and video instructor for our virtual Youth Justice Program, about his experience working with our young people online.

Q: Tell me about the work you are doing with our young people. Which parts of it are you most excited about?

A: I am preparing them not only for their work of digital performance art but also teaching them skills that they can take into the job market. I am truly excited to be working with everybody at The Possibility Project. I get to see a spark of enthusiasm in them when they realize that they have the ability to do what they enjoy, and that makes me feel like I am creating an impact.

Q: What are you finding that our young people are most interested in learning?

A: They’re interested to know how the Marvel movies get made, how long does it take to do something that grand. But I also get questions on the social media level: “How do I upload my videos to look like this?” Last week, we were going over exporting and how you have to use different formats depending on where you will be uploading them. The technical aspects of filming are really resonating with them. They’re really having a joy diving into those.

Q: How have you been preparing for your workshops?

A: It’s been an adjustment. Normally, I prefer to be in front of a screen with someone. It makes it easier to correct their mistakes or quickly teach them a shortcut or small technique. I can’t really do that over video as seamlessly. So, preparing for the workshops has been very strategic on my end. I am attempting to make the workflow digestible and essential. I figure if they understand the fundamentals, they can expand on the rest outside of rehearsal.

Q: Are there any parts of your workshops that are easier in this virtual format or are there things that you can do now that you weren’t able to do in-person?

A: With the virtual program, I feel like they show up to the workshop if they really want to learn, so everyone’s focus and attention is there. Not being in person is helping them focus on the actual work, because nothing around them is distracting them. It’s really easy to jump into editing and jump back out to instruction again. I definitely feel like that’s a benefit to doing these virtual classes.

Q: What benefits do you hope participants will gain from your workshops?

A: To start from an idea and execute it all the way to an actual project, in that process, you’re molding yourself as a human. You get to see how much guts and determination you have. Film is a great way to make yourself a better person because it takes so much out of you. It takes critical and creative thinking, patience, and heart, and it takes work ethic. I want the young people to walk away feeling like they accomplished something big and knowing they can handle anything.

 

THANK YOU so much for contributing to MISSION: POSSIBLE and helping us empower young people in a virtual world. I cannot express enough how much we appreciate your support and the difference it makes for us, especially in these uncertain times.

Together, we raised a total of $54,515!

We could not have achieved, and then exceeded, our goal and earned the matching challenges without you. We are truly inspired and humbled by your generosity.

We promise to keep you updated about the progress of our online programs and the virtual performance pieces our youth create together. If you are ever curious about what we’re up to, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love to hear from you!

Thank you again for your support of our young people and our mission. We are so grateful to have you as part of our community of friends. You have shown us that with your help, anything is possible.We hope that you and yours continue to be healthy and safe.P.S. Don’t forget to follow us on social media! Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Vimeo