Youth Theatre Project

In September of 2004, the Sexual Assault Centre of Brant received funding from the National Crime Prevention Centre, an initiative of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada [PSEPC], through their Community Mobilization Program. The goal of the program is to help agencies and organizations develop community-based initiatives that deal with the underlying causes of crime and victimization. The Sexual Assault Centre of Brant’s Youth Theatre Project involved 9 Brant County youths who conducted peer focus groups in high schools and youth centres and consulted with community experts in order to identify and then research social issues pertinent to their peers. The students turned what they had learned into a theatrical production that highlights teen homelessness and some of its contributing factors: homophopbia, abuse, addictions, and religious discrimination. The play is called "Anonymous."

The project was entirely student driven with the supervision of three Centre staff. The script was developed and written by the students. The students met weekly for most of the school year and worked extremely hard to create a production that would convey the message they felt was important to youth in their own community.

The play was performed before 14 audiences in Brant County. Rogers Television generously donated their time and expertise to collect video footage of the entire process with a view to making an instructional documentary for use in secondary schools.

The research below was put together by the Centre’s summer students as a resource for Brant County youths.