backgroundfile-65634

Recommendations

Info

The Unseen by Zakisha Brown 10 Frustrated. Confused. Angry. Aloof. She could not believe what had just happened to her. She would never fathom she would meet the devil reincarnated in the flesh. Just like that. He took her soul. Her beautiful essence and life force… vanished. She has contemplated her physical body vanishing alongside her soul. Seven letters. Suicide. “I mean what else am I good for?” She would ask herself on a daily basis. Sitting there pathetically waiting for help but no one was coming. In this neighborhood you were trained to look the other way and only speak when spoken to. You hear blood curdling screams, bangs, gun shots, cries for help… but you keep it moving. Don’t even think twice about helping anyone unless you think you’re some type of foolish superhero. There is no love on this side of the city. Shoreham was the name of the living purgatory she was in, located in Toronto. “The side where the sun doesn’t dare to shine its light,” she would often say. Pondering if there really was a heaven and if she killed herself would that be cheating death or was that how the course of her life was supposed to go? All these questions. No Answers. She lay there looking around her torn and messy apartment looking for any sharp item that would end her excruciating mental, spiritual, and physical pain. Until she heard her two year old son. He just woke up. The irony, just as she was about to put herself to sleep. Permanently. Melissa Wisdom is the name of a family friend who has been a victim of mental and physical abuse from her partner of 3 years. They had a son together. The day she decided she had enough of being his punching bag was the day she thought her life had hope for a fresh start with her son. It was quite the opposite, her life literally flashed in front of her eyes when she told him over the phone, which she thought she would be safe from his reaction. Later that night he came banging on her apartment door in the middle of the night around 11pm, yelling at her to open the door. She woke up, looked into the peep hole and kept the top latch on the door while opening the bottom lock and opening the door halfway. He was furious as he kicked down the door until it broke off and began to choke her as she struggled away from him and tried yelling for help. Of course in this at risk neighborhood no one even bothered to open their door. He grabbed Melissa and began tying her arms and legs with the rope he brought and lifted her inside of the shower and turned the water temperature on extreme heat and left her in there. As she was fighting and screaming for her life, he brought a pot of boiling hot water that was on the oven and dumped it on top of her body. Their son was now startled by the noise and began crying. He ignored the tears of his son and began taking Melissa out of the shower onto the bathroom floor and began punching and kicking her until she was bleeding helplessly while still screaming for her life. Finally someone came outside of their apartment and asking what was happening, as a woman and a man came inside Melissa’s torn up apartment he showed his 9mm gun and they ran to seek help. A few minutes of almost making her unconscious with his vicious attacks, just when you thought it couldn’t get worse… it did. He lifted her up and brought her to the balcony of the apartment building and hung her body dangling over threatening to drop her. She lived on the 22nd floor. If you know what it is like to fight for your life knowing there is nothing else left to lose, the only thing you can do is fight or die. She fought knowing her life depended on it. Kicking, Screaming, Punching, she was able to at least distract this 5 foot 7 man that had her life on his shoulder. She was no longer intimidated by him. Her son was all she thought about. The reason to live was that fact that her son Jahsun was standing behind them in their apartment building watching everything. Crying loud enough that every neighbor on that floor came outside of their homes. The same people who had seen this earlier called the police and they were seen coming when Melissa and her ex were on the balcony. He ran. He left Melissa laying there crying, bleeding, exhausted and angry. Shocked that she was still alive she grabbed Jahsun and rocked back in forth until the police came. Months later, her ex boyfriend was caught. The
police left a note at her door stating “We left him 10 times worse then he left you.” She needed to express this story to someone since this never made the news; it was only heard on the streets of Shoreham. I am her vessel, my name is Zakisha Brown and she has opened herself up enough to tell me this. She has also left a message for youths who have gone through this or similar situations. “Never Give up. Don’t be ashamed of what you have gone through. You are NOT alone. Share your story, even if it’s with ONE person. Do not harbour in negative thoughts and most importantly don’t be afraid to seek help, I am still in the process of finding the necessary help and surrounding myself with positive people, one step at a time I find healing through writing. R.I.S.E Poetry has been the main outlet to help me go through life hearing everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. They are just like me. I am just like them. I have am still finding out what loving myself REALLY means. I LOVE MYSELF. I love my son, Jahsun is my motivation. So thank you for allowing me to express myself to you.” 20-year-old Zakisha Brown is more known by her emcee ego, Lady Z. Her lyrics focus on substance and meaning. Her ultimate goal is to spread her message to billions of people who she believes are all worthy to be themselves. 11 page
Page 2 and 3: Table Of Contents toronto youth equ
Page 4 and 5: Youth Arts Contributors The Toronto
Page 6 and 7: Myths & Realities Myth Youth violen
Page 8 and 9: Process The motivation for the Toro
Page 13 and 14: Service Planning Principles A servi
Page 15 and 16: complexity of vulnerability This
Page 17 and 18: Service Planning Principles 5. Coll
Page 19 and 20: Run Come Now by Joel Taylor Run com
Page 21 and 22: inner perspective - a short video
Page 23 and 24: 21. Services for youth most vulnera
Page 25 and 26: “Hood Life” BY FUNMILOLA LAWSON
Page 27 and 28: Actions 1a 1b The City of Toronto w
Page 29 and 30: attempted suicide twice and we were
Page 31 and 32: Actions 3a The City of Toronto will
Page 33 and 34: learn new cultures and ways of perc
Page 35 and 36: Actions 6a 6b 6c 6d Toronto Communi
Page 37 and 38: Actions 8a Toronto Community Housin
Page 39 and 40: Actions 9a 9b 9c 9d 9e 9f The City
Page 41 and 42: Actions 10a In the case of pre-empl
Page 43 and 44: Actions 12a 12b Shelter, Support an
Page 45 and 46: Actions 14a Parks, Forestry, and Re
Page 47 and 48: Just hear me out by heavy steve Sto
Page 49 and 50: Actions 17a The City of Toronto wil
Page 51 and 52: Actions 20a The City of Toronto wil
Page 53 and 54: A young man by the name Tay was on
Page 55 and 56: Actions 22a Social Development, Fin
Page 57 and 58: didn’t want to see him in jail or
Page 59 and 60: Actions 24a 24b 24c Toronto Communi
Page 61 and 62:
Actions 26a RECOMMENDATION Social D
Page 63 and 64:
63 page
Page 65 and 66:
Actions 27a Shelter, Support and Ho
Page 67 and 68:
Without a positive male figure to i
Page 69 and 70:
Contributing Photographers: Idil Je
Page 71 and 72:
References Amadeusz, The Look at my
show all

backgroundfile-65634

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?