I am so upset today.   Classes in the ARISE program were supposed to begin this evening.  ARISE (Artistic Resources In Social Empowerment) is a progam for underpriveleged youth which offers them exposure to the visual arts.  We offer two 8 week sessions per year and each child who participates gets four weeks of classes in their twochoice:  pottery, painting, drawing, drama, cartooning, jewelry making, paper crafting, lapidary and video making through a local tv station.   This is the one job in my life that I was so proud to be a part of.   We all felt that we could make a difference in the lives of children who too often see only crime as a way of making money, children who receive no encouragement for natural talents, children who really truly  need the opportunity to explore other options in life. 

Many of us saw children who had severe behavior problems become empowered by abilities they were not aware that they had.  We helped kids explore avenues never offered by schools.

Grants were not forthcoming this year and we were forced to charge tuition.  Needless to say, in these days of economic concern, no parents of kids from broken homes could afford to take the classes.  No children from the projects could take them.  Only four kids signed up from other economic strata so all classes were cancelled. 

SHAME, shame, shame on our government that spends millions a day in another country waging war and has no money for these poor kids.    Shame shame shame on local govenment that is concerned with development of downtown businesses and can spend 8 million making new parking lots but no money for our children. We are paying the piper for big business men who make our decisions.   And remember the story of the Pied Piper?   What happened to the children?   They were lost...............

When we lose our youth, we lose our future.