BY RAINA NAEEM

This world is a system that fills itself with more and more chaos and havoc each day. With Hal-yes, a room of 210 served as an escape to those who truly needed it. Whether it be to shed tears of laughter or immense pain Hal-yes allowed youth to have a physical diary that they could walk into once a week to relieve themselves of any emotion they felt whether it be happiness, anger, relief, resentment and more. Those who carried their own emotion could listen and contribute on issues widening their horizons on situations they have not personally gone through but vicariously live through in the hands of their peers. Along with personal issues that the participants of Hal-yes would face in their day-to-day life, they discussed worldly issues faced by the racialized population. Many impacts were made because of these discussions, but the Hal-yes program did not stop there as a finale was in the making. A day was set for the youth to showcase their tremendous talents and they most definitely delivered! The finale of this program was a platform to highlight various forms of expression. From poetry to dance fusions, this finale was the perfect wrap to the empowering program.