The Challenge

This case presents an opportunity for you to consider how others put values into practice.

Built in the 1940s, Regent Park in Toronto is Canada's oldest and largest low-income public housing community. This culturally diverse community is home to 12,000 people.

Regent Park is among the poorest communities in Canada, with residents reporting an average income that is approximately half the average income for the rest of Toronto. More than 70% of Regent Park residents are visible minorities. Over half of the population of Regent Park consists of children under the age of eighteen.

Community residents face many systemic barriers to good health, of which poverty, unemployment, discrimination, gang violence, substance abuse and a general sense of hopelessness are but a few. It was determined that a comprehensive approach that engaged young people in identifying and addressing their own health and educational needs was required.

Action Taken

Introduced in 1994, the Media Arts program is an ongoing, skill-building initiative for young people living in Regent Park. Sponsored by Regent Park FOCUS, a community-based, substance abuse prevention project funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the program provides a range of learning experiences for young people in the media arts field.

Participants apply their skills to developing communication materials focusing on issues that are important to them and their community. Components of the program include:

Catch da Flava Newspaper, an on-line community newspaper produced by participants (see http://www.catchdaflava.com/);
Catch da Flava, a bi-monthly radio program produced by participants and broadcast live from Regent Park. The purpose of the radio program is to take the "power of voice" held by the mainstream media and to place it in the hands of youth. Like many low-income, marginalized communities, Regent Part suffers from negative stereotypes perpetuated by the media. The radio show provides young people from Regent Park with an opportunity to dispel myths about their community and give a more realistic account;