Lion's Tooth Project

Lion's Tooth Project is a community-based youth project inspiring immigrant, queer, Black, Indigenous, POC youth to have more agency over their own wellness, healing, and personal stories through the art of photography and earth medicine.

COVID-19 has impacted our community and young people at higher rates than any other group because of the social and economic inequities in our society, rooted in racism and other forms of oppression. So how do we show up? In March we held a community needs assessment with Lion's Tooth youth to identify how to best be of service. We decided to create virtual offerings that could support youth who are experiencing further isolation, increased anxiety and stress, and a desire to reclaim their agency over their wellness. Many also expressed the need to have access to food and employment opportunities. So we came up with a proposal:

Starting April 16th, 2020, youth leaders representing Brooklyn, Harlem, Queens, and The Bronx took on the role of Peer Leads to co-facilitate weekly Virtual Drop-In Groups and a series of four Week Intensives for youth 14-24. All groups are led by/for youth, honoring their roots and many beautiful intersecting identities. We will work with a deep respect for our ancestors and community as our most powerful medicine. Youth will learn how to re-grow herbs/vegetables, make herbal medicine, and utilize the arts and mindfulness practices to support their wellbeing while providing employment opportunities through our paid Peer Lead roles.

Drop-In Groups: virtual drop-in groups for youth to attend and be in the community

IG LIVE Hive Mind: an online space for conversation with other youth hosted by Peer Leads

Week 1: DIY Urban Garden, May 4-8, 5-6:30p (EST)

Week 2: Photography, May 18-22, 5-6:30p (EST)

Week 3-4: Photography, Winter / Spring 2021 

Week 5: DIY Urban Garden Summer 2021 

In partnership with United Photo Industries, Brown Sugar: Yoga for Folks of Color, The LGBT Center, The Youth Food Justice Network, NYC Public Schools, and local educators/teaching artists, we seek to collectively center youth on their own healing journeys as they navigate the impacts of COVID-19.

Your contribution will support our weekly Virtual-Drop in groups, IG Live Series, program intensives, providing resources for youth to access employment opportunities, and mailing care packages.

The funds will allow our team to work with partner organizations, engage and pay educators, provide youth stipends, and cover material costs for each week intensive.

Your donation is an investment in NYC immigrant, queer, and BIPOC youth so they can continue to connect, inspire, and thrive. It will support youth employment opportunities as the city cuts funding for summer youth employment programs; as well as, foster community and build a larger network of youth leadership.

We appreciate your support! We can't do this alone. 

APRIL  2020
Planning: review community needs assessment, coordinating partnerships, finalizing a timeline and outreach plan, launch virtual drop-in group, and week intensive registration forms online.

Implementation: LTP Peer Leads begin planning and co-facilitating Virtual-Drop in groups every Thursday.

MAY 2020
Implementation

- Virtual Drop-In Groups (yoga/mindfulness, art, and herbal medicine)

- WEEK INTENSIVE: DIY Urban Garden 

- WEEK INTENSIVE: Photography (virtual meetings w/ photographers)

JUNE 2020 – AUGUST 2020
Implementation 

- Virtual Drop-In Groups (yoga/mindfulness, art, and herbal medicine)

- Youth-led workshop at the Gender Spectrum Virtual Symposium

- Virtual Drop-In w/ The Youth Food Justice Network

- Virtual Youth Drop-In groups for Trans / Gender Non-Binary youth w/ the Gender Spectrum

- WEEK INTENSIVE: Photography

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2020

- Harvest Celebration with Peer Leads at PHOTOVILLE

- National Guild Community Arts and Education Panel: Guild Compass Series

- Hire a new cohort of Peer Leads and plan upcoming 2021 virtual drop-in groups + week intensives

MARCH-SEPTEMBER 2021

- Spring and Summer Week Intensives

- IG LIVE Series: Hive Mind

- PHOTOVILLE showcase

We want to continue to address the impact of deep-rooted inequality, discrimination, and oppression a large portion of our youth face due to their race, gender identity, status, or ability, which has become increasingly visible during this global pandemic. We hold community as our most powerful medicine so we are choosing to find creative ways to hold containers that transform grief and make space for joy. As Kazu Haga says, "if we hold intergenerational trauma, we also hold intergenerational wisdom".

We believe that creating access/projects where there is a connection to the land and plants as a form of healing and story-telling builds community and a sense of belonging. We hope this journey honors the amazing gifts and ancestral knowledge of our communities. Our youth will thrive as we strive to break isolation, connect them to needed resources to care for themselves and their families, and inspire them to tap into their creativity and sense of purpose.

We hope you can join us!