Regent Park Focus

Financial Literacy Oct 29, 2019 This week of Catch da Flava, your hosts Jamila and Kiley are joined by Ish to discuss some basic financial literacy. The trio has been also joined by Hirani Siva over the phone. Hirani is a part-time Financial adviser and a third-year criminology student at Wilfrid Laurier University. In this episode, many great questions about budgeting, delay of instant gratification and chequing/saving accounts were discussed. Additionally, some of the misconceptions of credit cards were addressed. On behalf of the group, Thanks again to Hirani for her time and knowledge we are looking forward to having her again soon. Listen to an archive of this episode and more at: https://www.radioregent.com. Listen to Podcast: http://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/2019-10-29.mp3

We met for the second Diva’s program of the session on Friday October 25 th . The girls arrived with smiles on their faces and began to socialize and eat snacks before beginning the week’s discussion. The facilitator wrote a question on the board that said, “Who inspires you on Youtube?” The girls named a few like Denzel Dion, Nella Rose and Adam Saleh. They said that they are inspiring because they are out there, true to them, authentic, relatable and don’t hold back on their thoughts and beliefs. The discussion shifted to stereotypes and which Youtubers are challenging them on their channels. Then we discussed the dangers of Youtube, including false information/fake news, forcing young girls to grow up fast, hateful comments and secret product placements. The final activity of the day was to create a Youtube video called, “Storytime: They Thought I Was Aggressive?” The video was about stereotypes people placed on them and they had to answer specific questions in the video such a...

Diva Girl's Blog #1 Today was the first day of the Diva's program for this year. The girls came in with vibrant energy and were excited to be back and to see each other. The group socialized and ate some snacks before gathering in a circle to start today's program. It began with an ice breaker game called "Two Truths and a Lie", where the girls opened up about what they did over the summer and what they are looking forward to for this session of the Diva's group. After going around the circle, the CANVAS instructor, Twoey, pulled out two large pieces of paper: one had social justice issues the girls want to tackle and the other one was arts based practices to tackle those issues. For example, the paper said topics such as Islamophobia, racism, love and relationships, body image and many others, and the girls circled which topics they wanted to discuss further. Then, they had to circle which arts based practices they wanted to do which included pain...

Name of Program: Radio Regent News and Views Date: October 25, 2019 Episode: 16 Host: David Wall This week on Radio Regent News & Views, we will be exploring the following stories: 1. The 17th Toronto Foundation Vital Signs Report and issues coming out of that report about precarious work based on the growing racial and income inequalities being faced by residents living in Toronto. On this week's program, Wayne Greenway will interview Felicia Davis-Weslin who is apart of the team at Toronto Foundation Vital Signs Report. 2. Davis-Weslin will be discussing her sessions with grassroots leaders from across Toronto who were invited to a round table talk about the findings in the Toronto Vital Signs Report. The idea of these sessions is to bring new sets of voices and opinions to the discussion and to find out the leaders' reaction to the findings in the report. 3. Theo Nazary joins David Wall in an interesting and analytical discussion about the October 21st...

Date:   October 21st, 2019 Hosts :  Shuhita & Kai Guests : Daunette, Lactation Consultant  Topic : Breastfeeding and Chestfeeding! World BreastFeeding Week was in October so we talked about breastfeeding and chestfeeding. Both breastfeeding and chestfeeding refer to the same act but we use chestfeeding to be inclusive to the trans men, trans women and nonbinary people who also nurse their children. There’s a lot of stigma and misinformation around breastfeeding and chest feeding so this show we decided to break it all down. We interviewed Daunette who is working to become a certified lactation consultant to answer all your breastfeeding and chestfeeding questions and then we talked all about our personal experiences nursing Listen here: https://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/jessies/2019-10-21.mp3 ______________________________________________________________________ To learn more about Jessie’s Centre and/or the Community Education Prog...

Climate Crisis and Federal Elections, October 18, 2019 This week on Radio Regent News & Views, we will be exploring the following stories: 1. Reporter, Wayne Greenway, discusses the movement created by Greta Thunberg, with special guest Ally Rugu, a U of T student involved in Fridays for the Future Movement. Fridays for the Future movement is primarily made up of school-aged young people dedicated to reversing climate change. 2. Host David Wall and co-host Theo Nazary discuss the Federal Election about how advanced voting polls have reached a record high for most early voters at 4.7 million participants. 3. David Wall and Theo Nazary discuss how Donald Trump has a high chance of being re-elected as the President of the United States pending the public's opinion of the impeachment Radio Regent News & Views runs on Fridays at 2pm and is repeated throughout the week on radioregent.com Listen to the podcast: https://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/newsviews/201...

This week on Radio Regent News & Views, we will be exploring the following stories: 1. Interviewer Wayne Greenway meets with Hiban Alli, an urban planner in Toronto, to discuss Sidewalk Labs. Hiban goes on to explain how Sidewalk Labs is designing a district on Toronto's Eastern Waterfront to tackle the challenges of urban growth. 2. Host David Wall and co-host, Theo Nazary, discuss the Canadian Federal TV debates. 3. Host David Wall and co-host, Theo Nazary, discuss the near closure of Soufi's which is a restaurant in Parkdale run by the Syrian family of Hossam Alsoufi. Hate threats to the business occurred, after Alsoufi's son was identified attending an anti-racism protest in Hamilton. 4. Radio Regent News & Views runs on Fridays at 2PM and is repeated throughout the week on radioregent.com

Sidewalk Labs, October 11, 2019 This week on Radio Regent News & Views, we will be exploring the following stories: 1. Interviewer Wayne Greenway meets with Hiban Alli, an urban planner in Toronto, to discuss Sidewalk Labs. Hiban goes on to explain how Sidewalk Labs is designing a district on Toronto's Eastern Waterfront to tackle the challenges of urban growth. 2. Host David Wall and co-host, Theo Nazary, discuss the Canadian Federal TV debates. 2. Host David Wall and co-host, Theo Nazary, discuss the near closure of Soufi's which is a restaurant in Parkdale run by the Syrian family of Hossam Alsoufi. Hate threats to the business occurred, after Alsoufi's son was identified attending an anti-racism protest in Hamilton. 4. Radio Regent News & Views runs on Fridays at 2PM and is repeated throughout the week on radioregent.com Listen to podcast: https://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/newsviews/2019-10-11.mp3

Federal Election Oct 08, 2019 This week Catch da Flava youth radio show started off with a banger! The hosts Jamelia, Thalia, Shejuanah and Kylie -joined by Ish, discussed the upcoming Federal election and what qualities and goals they wanted to see in the next leader of our beautiful country. Moreover, they debriefed the Federal Election debate for listeners who didn’t get the chance to watch. To hear this amazing radio show, go to the Radio Regent archive at: http://radioregent.com. http://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/2019-10-08.mp3 By: Ishag Ahmed

The Leaders We Rely Upon, September 27, 2019 This week on Radio Regent News & Views, we will be exploring the following stories: 1. A photo of Justin Trudeau from 2001 was recently released to the public which showed him dressed as Aladdin, wearing a painted-on brown face and a turban. It also came to light that Trudeau did an impression making fun of American singer, songwriter, and activist, Harry Belafonte. It was expected that Trudeau's votes would decrease after these revelations, but his votes actually increased. News and Views host, David Wall and co-host, Theo Nazary, discuss why. 2. David Wall and Theo Nazary go on to consider the possibility of an impeachment and the negative impacts that it could have, after a whistleblower reported on a conversation that took place over-the-hone between President Trump and the President of Ukraine involving an alleged request from Trump to have Ukraine investigate the son of his potential election candidate, Joe Biden, in exc...

Date:   September 23 th , 2019 Hosts :  Chantal & Kai Guests : Ulysse Guerrier, Community Health Worker at Taibu Community Health Centre Topic : Sickle Cell Awareness September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month so this show , we talked all about Sickle Cell Disease, treatment, stigma and more. We interview Ulysse Guerrier, a Community Health Worker at Taibu Community Health Centre who runs a Sickle Cell Support Group and Kai talks about her personal experiences as someone living with Sickle Cell Disease. Listen here: https://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/jessies/2019-09-23.mp3 ______________________________________________________________________ To learn more about Jessie’s Centre and/or the Community Education Program, please visit: www.jessiescentre.org . Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PowerfulXNature TAIBU Community Health Centre is a multidisciplinary, non-for-profit, community led organization established to serve the Black ...

Date:   September 9 th , 2019 Hosts :  Chantal & Rhiannon Guests : Deb, Counselor at Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape Topic : Take Back the Night & Reporting Sexual Assault* *Trigger Warning for Discussions of Sexual Assault & Suicidal Thoughts In the latest episode of Powerful by Nature, your hosts talk about the fight to end sexual violence and violence against women, with a focus on the Take Back the Night movement, and talk about what surviving sexual violence can look like. We talk about where you can get support in Toronto if you have experienced sexual violence and take you step by step through the reporting process. We talk to a survivor about her personal experience surviving and anonymously reporting a sexual assault and then interview Deb, a Counsellor at Toronto Rape Crisis Centre about their crucial services and why Take Back the Night remains a critical feminist movement.  We want every survivor who ...

Our summer program has ended last week and we are already missing our outstanding team. They have been very active and super talented and working on their own documentary project and also Catch Da Flava radio programs every Wednesdays under our supervision has thought them so much on the process. It was very successful. We wish them all the best in their future in media as they aspire to be and always happy to welcome them back.

Welcome this is the 7th and finale Catch Da Flava Youth Radio Show. It is hosted by Iman and Vanessa and Vanessa’s brother Jaden. Andre was not present with us in the radio show because he was working on the Criminal Harassment Video but Andre was with us in spirit for our last radio show. The topic was about Technology and the side effects of too much exposure to it. In the radio show me Vanessa and Jaden discussed possible solutions/countermeasures for technology usage. Although it was our last radio show our group enjoyed broadcasting and loved working here at Regent Park Focus Media Centre and would love to come back here. Listen to Podcast: http://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/2019-08-21.mp3

Date:   August 19 th , 2019 Hosts :  Kai Topic : PXN Celebrates Caribana   Caribana celebrates freedom and the struggle against slavery and Caribbean culture and identity. Join Kai as she explores the history of Caribana, talks about Caribana Toronto and shares tips for anyone interested in playing mas. Listen here: 2019-08-19

Our second last week at Focus was an eventful one. The beginning of the week was filled with editing for our Criminal Harassment and Neighbourhood Police videos. Wednesday was the most exciting day. Over the weekend, a bunch of Focus members participated in the 24 hr Film Challenge by TIFF. Wednesday was the screening where 18 films were shown on the big screen, including Focus’s own film “Sweet Deal”. It was so amazing to see the wide variety of entries, and how creative people were when implementing the required shots and props from TIFF. Even though Focus didn’t win, the bonding experience the team had and the final product is something they are proud of. I will definitely be part of that team next year. But we also had a bit of filming this week too. We had two interviews with Julie Fiddes from the Women’s Shelter discussing their role in helping victims of criminal harassment. Our big filming session was filming Rob and Amber on their patrols in the gay village and St. James ...

This is the sixth radio blog of Catch Da Flava Youth Radio Show hosted by Vanessa, Andre, and Iman. The topic is about Opioid and the opioid epidemic here in Canada. Our guest is Sheena Taha from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. She gave information about the topic and her opinion about it. This radio show showed the negative side effects of opioid overdoses and how to help others if they are struggling with opioid addiction. This is Iman from Catch Da Flava and hope you tune in for next week's radio show. Listen to Podcast: Date: August 14, 2019 Name: Iman Rajabi

On this weeks radio show we had a discussion about Lifestyle (Veganism Vs Meat Eaters). We had our guests Stephan, Raymondo & Diego speak about their experiences and the different lifestyles they live. On the vegan side we had Elise and Stephan and on the meat-eater side we had Raymondo and Diego. Both sides had GREAT arguments but its still unsolved as to which lifestyle is better. Elise Ardizzi hosted this week's show. I (Xavier Ricketts) and Minerva Navasca did the technical work for the show. Overall I enjoyed it this week and I look forward to my last radio show next week!!! Listen to Podcast: http://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/2019-08-14_2.mp3 Date: August 14, 2019 Name: Xavier Ricketts

Cette semaine, nous sommes avons animé une émission de radio sur la protection de données en ligne. Nous sommes donc entrés en contact avec un homme qui travaillait dans ce domaine afin qu’il nous explique plus en détail le fonctionnement de la vente de données en ligne avec google, facebook et apple. Nous sommes également entrés en contact avec des membres de différents partis politiques québécois peu connus afin de connaître leur position sur différents sujets. Cette semaine est notre dernière a regent park focus, nous avons vécu des expériences extraordinaire, rencontrer des gens super sympathique et appris plusieurs choses. Pour nous, le groupe 3, nous sommes très reconnaissant et recommandons amplement ce programme! This week, we hosted a radio show on online data protection. So we got in touch with a man who worked in this area to explain more about how online sales of data works with Google, Facebook and Apple. We also got in touch with members of various less known Quebec ...

This week at Regent Park Focus was very productive! We edited a lot of the footage we got from the Legal Aid Convention and board meetings. We are still continuing to edit and finish the feature before summer comes to an end. We also had our radio show that focused on the technology of the future and the positive and negative impacts that it could potentially have. We had Danny Nolivos who spoke about the dark web which got a bit eerie, but definitely interesting! We also had Christian Waddell (a.k.a Pants) who is the best Virtual Reality gamer in the world! He spoke a lot about VR and AR, his experience with it, and how he thinks it will benefit the future. We spoke about TV show, Black Mirror and how it does a good representation of how the future can potentially look like. Looking forward to finishing up the Legal Aid film and the last week at Regent Park Focus. http://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/2019-08-08.mp3 Date: August 9, 2019 Name: Elise Ardizzi

Pour la dernière émission de radio, nous avons parlé des partis politiques québécois méconnus. Nous sommes entrés en contact avec un membre du Bloc Pot, un parti qui veut la décriminalisation du cannabis, un membre du parti Marxiste Léniniste, un parti qui veut  faire respecter les droits des travailleurs québécois, et un membre du parti Citoyens au Pouvoir, un parti qui souhaite que le système québécois devienne comme le système suisse, beaucoup plus démocratique. Nous avons également parlé quelque temps du parti culinaire, du parti communiste et du parti nul. For the last radio show, we talked about the unknown political parties in Quebec. We got in touch with a member of the Bloc Pot, a party that wants to decriminalize cannabis, a member of the Marxist Leninist party, a party that wants to uphold the rights of Quebec workers, and a member of the Citizens in Power Party, a party that wants the Quebec system to become like the Swiss system, much more democratic. We also talked...

Our fifth radio show on Catch Da Flava was taken over by myself, Vanessa. I kicked the other guys out to have an all girls show (with Matthew Avolio coming in as a later guest) with my fellow girls. I had Minerva Navasca and Lorena Florea with me from 11 am to 12 pm to spill the tea. Opening with Run the World by Beyoncé, our conversation started off hot with discussions about the inequality of how women have to constantly buy products for periods when men get condoms for free. We also discussed false information about periods, how the blame is often heavily placed on the woman when accidental pregnancies happen, and the statement “women who wear revealing clothing are asking to get raped”. After listening to 7 Rings by Ariana Grande, we continued our conversation with Matthew to provide a guy voice during our ranting. We discussed cat calling, men commenting about women and guys playing the victim when being rejected by a girl. With a quick break to Demi Lovato’s Confident, w...

This week on our radio show, we talked about Income Inequality, with special guests Laura McDonough and David Hulchanski. We decided to message them specifically to see if they would come on our show because Laura is a United Way researcher and David is a UofT professor, and both are very informed on the topic and talk about it daily in their workplaces. We discussed topics revolving around what problems they face, residential segregation, the Gini coefficient, and many more. We also looked at the different incomes communities have had over the years. We found that in 1980, there were five very low-income neighborhoods in Toronto and in 2015, the number grew to 88. Overall, it was a very interesting topic to handle and think about. Laura and David told us that they had previously worked together combatting income inequality, which made the radio show even better and made it run much more smoothly. Next week we plan on talking about Skin Bleaching and the effects it has had on peopl...

Today was an exciting day! We had the opportunity to visit Yonge Dundas Square to create a Vox Pop with the residents of Toronto. We asked them a series of questions about the new law passed in Quebec which bans public workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols. We also asked them about the changes that were made to O’ Canada in 2018. Aujourd'hui était une journée passionnante! Nous avons eu l’occasion de visiter Yonge Dundas Square pour enregistrer un Vox Pop avec les habitants de Toronto. Nous leur avons posé une série de questions sur la nouvelle loi adoptée au Québec, qui interdit aux fonctionnaires occupant des postes d'autorité de porter des symboles religieux. Nous leur avons également demandé quelles modifications avaient été apportées à O ’Canada en 2018.

This week at Regent Park Focus was very productive. We visited the Legal Aid Clinic and interviewed the staff members to get their opinions on the legal aid cuts that Doug Ford is implementing. We learned that this will, unfortunately, impact low-income individuals putting them at even more risk of homelessness, jail and to be hospitalized. Ultiumatley this will cost the government more in the end. We also went to a rally on Tuesday to film and interview individuals who have used the legal aid services, and also staff memebers who are being effected by these cuts as well. The footage we got of everyone was very good and now starting to edit and sync the audio in the lab. We are super excited to see how the final video comes out! We also had our radio show on Wednesday. Our topic of discussion was "Travel and Tourism, the good, the bad, the dirty". We had Nino Ace as our guest who is a professional traveller, having travelled to 36 countries and 6...

This week, we filmed the last episode of the “Lloyd Show”. Meeting Lloyd was an interesting experience and for it to come to an end is a little bit sad as we will miss working with him. In this episode, Lloyd interviewed a friend of his, Ines, who talked about what stores she thinks should be put up in Regent Park and etc. Overall, the scenery was a nice touch to the video, and we’ll surely be coming again to film or take photos. Besides the show, we also conducted our fourth radio show, talking about Eating Disorders with two special guests from NEDIC. They talked about signs to look out for and what to do if you know someone is dealing with the problem. It was very educational and we hope our listeners enjoyed it just as much as we did. Listen to Podcast: In the end, it was an easy-going week. Next week, we plan on focusing on just editing the videos now that we’ve finished filming altogether.

This week, we discussed Eating Disorders with special guests, Jennifer and Arya, from NEDIC. We talked about how the media affects people and how it could lead to having the disorder, as well as who founded NEDIC and why. They also mentioned their personal experiences with eating disorders and how it inspired them to get involved in working with NEDIC. While talking to them, you could feel the compassion they had for the people suffering from the disorder, and how they really tailored their program to each specific person. We were so happy they emailed back so fast and agreed to come to Regent Park Focus because they were the best possible people we could’ve interviewed for this topic. Stay tuned for next week, where we tackle the topic of Income Inequality! Listen to Podcast:

The last week of July had been a busy week for us with filming sessions and important guest speakers. Monday, July 29th had Deputy Police Chief Peter Yuen discussing the future plans for the Neighbourhood Community Officer Program. The meeting took place at the Regent Park Community Centre with an amazing turnout from residents. The new program will be rolled out in September to 35 communities, including Regent Park. Our team filmed the meeting and interviewed a few guests to get their opinions about the expanded program. Wednesday had our usual Catch da Flava radio show, with our specialist being Mary Wu from SE Health to discuss tips for Job Hunting and Ergonomics. But beforehand we had a special guest speaker. Nigel H. from Etalk came to talk to us about his career in the industry, and even his own time in Regent Park Focus. Nigel gave great advice about how to get an internship and shared his tips on how to make a lasting impression that will open more doors (you should have a ...

This week at Regent Park Focus was very busy! We started off with our radio show, had to find a guest speaker that our discussion. This was a bit difficult but in the end, had a guest come from Regent Park Film Festival to talk about diversity in the film industry. We also started working on our promotional video for the Legal Aid Clinics in Ontario. Here we are focusing on the residents that live and use the service, and also trying to raise awareness to the general public of Doug Ford's cuts. We went to Ryerson University, and Moss Park to interview people. We just got new equipment so it was a lot of fun working with such high-quality camera gear. Loving and learning a lot here! Date: July 26, 2019 Name: Elise Ardizzi

For this week’s radio show we had a conversation about driving under the influence. Our special guest was Carolyn Swinson from MADD. We talked at length about the prevalence of driving under the influence and how recent legislation and the legalization of marijuana has exacerbated this issue. Carolyn also shared her personal story as to why she got involved with MADD and what she does in the organization to help the victims of impaired driving. It was moving to hear the things she went through and how deeply affected she was by this topic. Overall, she was very well informed on MADD Canada and enlightened not only us but also the listeners. Listen to Podcast: http://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/2019-07-26.mp3 Name: Matthew Avolio Date: July 26, 2019

Group #1 Blog #4 This week was full of interviews and filming. On top of our Wednesday radio show, we had two filming sessions interviewing speakers for our Criminal Harassment video and our new Neighbourhood police video. On Monday we met with Julie S. Lalonde, creator of Outside of the Shadows, to hear her opinion about criminal harassment in Canada. That was followed by a meeting with St. James Town Neighbourhood Police Officers Rob Chevalier and Amber Smith. We got to know the officers and discussed ideas for the neighbourhood police video. Tuesday was our first filming session with Rob and Amber. We got a tour of the 51 division and filmed an interview session in “The Space”, a space the police acquired and turned into a community centre. Our Wednesday radio show was about abortion with a surprise birthday party for Lorena. We shouted her out on air and had cake to celebrate later. What an interesting week! Date: July 26, 2019 Names: Iman Rajabi and Vanessa Wu

Group # 2 Blog #4 This week at Regent Park Focus was very busy! We started off with our radio show, had to find a guest speaker that our discussion. This was a bit difficult but in the end had a guest come from Regent Park Film Festival to talk about diversity in the film industry.  We also started working on our promotional video for the Legal Aid Clinics in Ontario. Here we are focusing on the residents that live and use the service, and also trying to raise awareness to the general public of Doug Ford's cuts. We went to Ryerson University, and Moss Park to interview people. We just got new equipment so it was a lot of fun working with such high quality camera gear.  Loving and learning a lot here! Date: July 26, 2019 Name: Elise Ardizzi

Pour l'émission de radio de la semaine 3, nous avons fait un résumé de ce qu’a fait Justin Trudeau pendant qu’il était premier ministre. Nous avons également parlé de l’adaptation de films pour la bien-pensance de 2019. Thomas a animé, Sheni a posé les questions et Elwin a décrypté les sujets. For the week 3 radio show, we did a resume of what Justin Trudeau did during the 4 last years. We talked to about color washing in movies like The little mermaid or 007. Thomas was hosting, Shani introduced subjects and Elwin talked about subjects with Thomas. Listen to Podcast: Date: July 24, 2019 Name: Alwin Atangana

Catch da Flava’s topic for our third week was abortion, from how to get an abortion in Canada, the Unplanned pro-life film, and people’s personal opinions about pro-life and pro-choice. The hosting was done by André and Iman since I lost my voice, but I was still there listening to the conversation. Our 11 am to 12 pm timeslot was slightly hijacked in the beginning by our guest Minerva Navasca, who wished a very happy 19th birthday to our other guest Lorena Florea. Happy birthday Lorena, you’re finally 19! After we got the show back on track Minerva and Lorena gave their opinions about being pro-choice, and how the pro-life side is adapting to the times. We also discussed the Unplanned movie, an adaptation about Abby Johnson’s switch from pro-choice to pro-life. After Lorena and Minerva, we had Carolyn Egan from Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada to answer some questions about the current abortion system in Canada and what their organization is doing to help women. Carolyn also...

Date:   July 22rd, 2019 Hosts :   Kai & Chantal Guests : @Exotic.Cancer, Shorty & More Topic : Sex work is Work  Sex work is simultaneously one of the world’s oldest and most criminalized and stigmatized professions. In the latest episode of Powerful by Nature, your hosts openly explore the realities of sex work and stripping today through a roundtable discussion and interviews with a variety of different women who work or have worked as strippers. We talk why stripping and sex work are often the best option for work for people living in poverty, facing discrimination and violence and living in places without affordable housing or a minimum wage that's anywhere near a living wage. We talk about the importance of respecting the bodily autonomy of people who work in the industry and explore the violence and entitlement of many men who pay for the services of sex workers and strippers. We explore anti-black racism and other forms of discrimination ...

Group: # 1 This week our group not only broadcast our second radio show “Catch da Flava” but also did a lot of activities related to the next weeks’ radio shows and to the short documentary on Criminal Harassment that we are producing. On Monday we went to the streets to ask Regent Park streeters’ opinion about the changes that Ontario province is making for the accessibility of alcohol beverages and retail and convenience stores and its consumption in public areas. The next day we edited their answers into two audio clips that were played on our radio show on Wednesday. Throughout the week we also edited footage of the testimonials from criminal harassment victims for the short documentary that we are making. We also reached out to experts on the subject, police officers and lawyers as potential interviewees for this project. We plan to film our first interview next week. Meanwhile, we researched and gathered the information that will guide our scripts for our radio shows for the ne...

This week we worked hard on writing the scripts for the radio show up until Friday, where we interviewed Ismail Afrah for the Revitalization Project. Ismail had a lot to share about his work in the neighborhood as he is the co-chair of TCHC. Later in the day, we went out to film Lloyd and his friend Yousuf Ismail for the “Lloyd Show”. They had a discussion on how the revitalization has affected everyday life as longtime residents of Regent Park. So far, the week consisted of a lot of filming and script writing. Very excited for next week’s radio show where we talk about DUI’s.

In tonight's show, we talk about alcohol and its negative effects on people depending on gender, age and other factors. We talk about our personal experiences with alcohol and also interview people in the streets of Toronto about their experiences. Guest: Mark Andrews from OSAID - Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving Listen to Podcast: http://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/2019-07-17.mp3

Group #2 - blog #3 Last week at Regent Park Focus we were working on our radio show on Radio Regent, "CATCH DA FLAVA"! It was a lot of fun, our topic of discussion was about the positive and negative impacts that the Raptors Championship had on the City of Toronto. We chose to focus on the socioeconomic impacts such as the increase in tourism and money that the championship brought, but also the negatives such as pollution and danger that come with winning a championship. It was a lot of fun putting together the script and working together as a team, we chose hip-hop music to go with the vibe of the show and brought a super-fan as our guest. Overall the radio show was a success. For the rest of the week, we were prepping for the promotional video we are doing for  Neighbourhood Legal Services. Doug Ford has cut funding to the legal clinics in Ontario and we want to raise awareness of this problem because legal aid clinics help lower-income families and refugees immensely...

Date:   July 8th, 2019 Hosts :  Kay, Chantal & Rhiannon Guests : Berkha Gupta, ED at LGBTYouthline Topic : Pride Show This is our show about all things LGBTQ+. We start off taking a deep dive in to the history of Pride and then we interview Berkha Gupta, the Executive Director of LGBT Youthline about the organization’s incredible work supporting LGBTQ+  youth across Ontario through their confidential and non-judgemental peer support telephone, text and chat services.  Kay, Chantal and Rhiannon end off the show with a round table discussion about sexuality, identity, coming out and more! Listen here: https://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/jessies/2019-07-08.mp3 _________________________          To learn more about Jessie’s Centre and/or the Community Education Program, please visit: www.jessiescentre.org . Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PowerfulXNature To talk to one of L...

This week, our third working in Regent Park Focus this summer, we broadcast our first radio show. It was an episode of Catch da Flava, one of the most traditional and long-going shows at Radio Regent. We went live on Wednesday, July 10, at 11 am, for an hour-long show. The topic this week was Mental Health -  the physical and psychological effect of mental health problems, the broad scale of mental health, what to watch for and where to find help. To discuss all that, we had two guest interviews. In the first half, we talked with two undergraduate students, Christine Nastor and Diana DeLeon, about their struggles with mental health, especially in high school. After that, we interviewed Mike Stroh, founder of Starts With Me, a company that offers services for promoting mental health at schools and workplaces along with empowering families and individuals to increase their capacity for well-being. Mike answered our questions around the subject, talking about wha...

This week, we got new cameras! It was very interesting to see how the settings worked and how much more advanced they were compared to the old equipment we had previously. Besides this, we also did our third radio show so far on Driving Under the Influence, with special guest, Carolyn Swinson. She talked to us a ton about MADD Canada and how they help enforce safe driving. Other than that, we continued working on writing the script for next week’s radio show, as well as started to edit the “Lloyd Show”. So far, so good! Next week, we plan to film some more with Lloyd as well as start editing the Revitalization Project.

Summer Blog 2019 I Week of July 2 – 5, 2019 This is the 2nd week working in Regent Park Focus for the Summer Media Assistant Production Program, and it is a blast working on numerous projects for this job. My co-workers are fun, energetic and diverse. Everyone works their hardest during projects to ensure they leave their mark at Regent Park. Our most recent project was short films about gentrification. All of my group members had a blast during production and the whole filming experience was super fun. We ended up making two videos called “Invasive”, and “Grandmami”. And this is just the beginning of the summer with more projects waiting for us to produce. By: Iman Rajabi Date: July 5, 2019

This was the last sessions the Divas will be attending until fall. The session started out with a couple of games the girls played together. Some examples of the games the girls played included: charades, interview, riddles, and more.  The girls also decided they wanted to host a dance competition. We then had a pizza party and talked about their plans for the summer. Seeing these girls grow and become aware of issues and the power they have has been amazing, they are very excited for the sessions to start again in October. When they had first arrived in the program they seemed very shy and remained fairly quiet, now it's clear to see how their level of confidence has gone up and many of them mentioned that it has helped them at school. Thank you for this amazing year!

 The session on the 16th of May was used as a round table discussion to talk about the girls' opinion about the program so far. After starting with a quick game, the girls started mentioning things they liked and things they would like improved about the program. They then completed their evaluations and started talking about things they would want to learn in future sessions. On the 23rd, the girls went back to taking pictures, this time they were given even more control of how they wanted it to come out and therefore, they spent a long time situating themselves in places where the sun hit them the way they wanted it to. They also played around a lot with their surroundings finding creative ways to take pictures. The pictures are shown below: \