McLaughlin Youth Projects

McLaughlin Youth Center Freedom to Dream Book: Stories of Hope

The goal of the Freedom to Dream project at McLaughlin Youth Center offered an opportunity for young men to reflect on their lives and imagine a new trajectory for themselves through art and stories. The core of the project was offering and planting seeds of hope through their dreams. They were asked to reflect on the dreams of their parents or perhaps their grandparents to understand their culture and heritage. The project had four components: one-on-one interviews, an illustrated community art piece, the Freedom to Dream book with their stories, and a community reading of their stories. The work of Freedom to Dream began through focus groups. Nine young men shared their dreams and detailed certain aspects of their heritage.

McLaughlin Youth Center Lullaby Spin

KTL undertook a similar project at McLaughlin Youth Center. This six-month endeavor has four components: Music Theory, Guitar Lessons, Lullaby Writing, and Audio Production.

Freedom to Dream - The Stories Behind McLaughlin Youth Lullaby Spin. Young Men at Mclaughlin create their versions for a lullaby with a spin from traditional lullabies.

In these songs, you will not hear lullabies like “twinkle twinkle little star” as expected. You will hear a passing down of cultural knowledge. You will hear repetition messages to create new pathways in the brain from these songs. As sung in one of the lullabies, "I know what I've got to do to be who I want to be." Their powerful repetition of words and phrasing in this lullaby spin has guided new thinking about their lives. These young men have created a spin Interpretation for their lullabies.