On Tuesday April 21, Elevated Thought kicked off its Hope Builds Bridges Program. Half of the youth that signed up for this program are from Lawrence; the other half is from North Andover. The end result of the program, that will run through the spring, is to create electrical box designs that will go in the main lobby of the Mill Building where our headquarters is based out of. Members of the local communities, specifically people who frequent the mill buildings, will then be able to vote on the design that will go on the electrical box right in front of the building. Students grounded their designs in questions such as: What can communities like Lawrence and North Andover learn from each other? What are major differences each community faces? How can there be more compassion, understanding, and unity? How can art play a role in this process of understanding, progress and unity?
Students finished the day by visiting the Essex Art Center to check out an exhibit with work from local artists Markus Sebastiano and Derek Wakeen.
On Wednesday, the Lawrence Youth Council, now coordinated by Elevated Thought, filmed an alcohol prevention PSA with Jeremy Shannon and the Lawrence Video Production Club.