Project Not-So-Much

by Alana Lowe

They are not victims or perpetrators of violence as much as they are survivors of broken homes, school expulsions, homelessness, drug abuse, war torn countries and gang violence. They are a group of young men who call themselves Project Not-So-Much (PNSM), and they deliver peer-to-peer workshops on stereotypes, role models, community involvement and violence prevention. What’s unique about this group is that they do their counseling through various media, including video, graphic design and poetry. They teach troubled youth to express themselves through art, not anger.

Andrew Frazer is a 21-year-old peer facilitator with Project Not-So-Much who helps to develop and conduct workshops at elementary schools and high schools. He says it's important that young people have role models and use positive ways to express themselves.

Overcoming homelessness and joblessness, Frazer says his life could have all been different if not for the PNSM project. Now, he has ambitions to be a music video director or a fashion designer.
“I want to accomplish at least one of these goals in five years,” says Frazer, who sews his own clothes and makes videos at home. “I got my life mapped out, so it don't matter what barrier comes my way.”

“We believe and know that young people are creative,” says 20-year-old Sabri Essa, a former coordinator of PNSM. “All we try to do is send a message (and) inspire young people in different communities to show them that we can turn negative energy into positive energy.”

With the support of government and corporate funding, PNSM has created short documentaries, films, and their own magazine, all of which they present to youth and students across the city.
To help the budding 2002 project idea, the Laidlaw Foundation, a corporate group that gives funding to youth projects, gave PNSM a $5,000 catalyst grant to expand their reach beyond the small weekly meetings the group used to host.

“We give people catalyst grants so that they can move further and develop their ideas,” said Kendae Bah, a youth liaison officer with Laidlaw. “There are not a lot of young people, especially those that are marginalized, doing the type of stuff they’re doing.

“They’re using media to address issues and create a dialogue around it. It’s important to support developing artists from communities that lack access to resources, like video production and editing equipment. The end result is supporting capable and talented young people that produce great work that benefits us all.”