We All Have Dreams 
Creating together at Medicine Wheel.
The young 18 year old black man in the photo above and the 88 year old woman below both shared stories with me this week. Both told stories of bearing witness to the unspeakable and of having the courage to create a shared future history. The young man witnessed his cousin being killed in street violence last week. The older woman called this morning to make a donation so we could hire him full time and shared the story of her mother’s two sisters fleeing the Nazis and one of them seeing the other killed as she ran.
They work together on Wednesday mornings at Medicine Wheel. We have received a $20,000 challenge gift that we are trying to match. We would like to offer the young man a full time job as he ages out of youth services. We need and appreciate your help, Please donate at the link below
. He has a long history of giving back to the community through countless causes and endeavors. He is a South Boston Pop Warner Coach and Board member. He treats the team players as if they were his own children.He has also coached South Boston Little League and he is a part of the Monsignor McDonnell and Frank Kelley Holiday Dinners Committee. He has served on a number of boards and committees in the community. He is a true asset to the South Boston Community. His wife, Ashley Manning and two children Ronan and Keira support him in everything he does.
education in high school, focusing then on black and white photography. Ifé entered The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in the late 1980’s Ifé enrolled in, “The Art of Africa,” course where she met her mentor, Master Adire Artist Mr. Stanley Pinckney. Ifé continues to created Adire (traditional West African resist and dying techniques. Ifé owns and operates IféArt®. which produces sculpture, installations, drawing, collage, photography, and fiber arts. Ifé often works collaboratively with other social justice organizations, and artists Ifé believes it is her destiny to create and use her voice to convey her passion for the arts and her love for freedom, peace and justice.We were thrilled to launch her Indigo project at MWProductions and look forward to more collaborative efforts that use art to help people locate themselves in these urgent times.
William Stoddard-Bill started his career back in 1977 at the Condon Community Center. After a couple of years he moved on to the Boston Parks & Recreation Department and then on to the Executive Director of the Boston Police Athletic League. He was introduced to MWProductions and Michael Dowling around 1996, 1997 at a meeting behind South Boston High School in an area called No-Man’s Land. That is where the relationship with MWP began in the 90’s. As the Executive Director of the Boston Police Athletic League, Bill still supports MWP and the great work they do in collaboration with cops and kids, specifically the Hand in Hand program. Bill has been a true and dear friend to all of our work at MWP.
using alcohol and drugs through high school I found myself at my first treatment center, The Cushing House, at age 19. That was my first taste of hope that stayed with me. I was with a bunch of girls my age who struggled like me. We worked with MWP on the Serenity Garden at No Man’s Land and it was a huge influence in my life. Expressing myself through art has always been helpful to my recovery. Unfortunately that wasn’t it for me. I struggled in and out of treatment for years with periods of sobriety but never really surrendered. My family lost my dear brother to suicide who also suffered from addiction and that didn’t stop me. I’ve lost so many brilliant friends due to addiction and that didn’t scare me. Even becoming a mother in sobriety with all the love in my heart for my child, I couldn’t find my way. It wasn’t until my late 20’s, still experimenting with drinking and failing miserably, that I said this is enough. I said a prayer and meant it that I couldn’t do this anymore. That nothing made me feel okay anymore. I asked God for help that day. I told him I was finally ready and I’ve stayed close to Him since. I’ve had to do a lot of work on myself this time and I still am. My daughter is now 8 and I can finally say I’m being the best mother I can be for her. I’m currently switching careers to a licensed barber and working at a family shop. I have an amazing relationship with my family and daughter. I love Alcoholics Anonymous and I’m not ashamed to say it. My family has a Summer camp in memory of my brother to be a positive influence on young adults. I’ll be running a mediation class for them this year which I’m really looking forward to. We took them to MWP last year and we are hoping to again soon! I’m so grateful for all the chances I’ve received and with the help of God, family, and friends, I didn’t give up. Because what a blessing it is to not just be alive, but to feel alive.
Damarius B. is a young man who came to MWP while in DYS custody. 
Last summer while working with us at No Man’s Land he was confronted by some hateful, racist graffiti painted on the outdoor classroom at No Man’s Land. In the years that we have worked at No Man’s Land this has been an ongoing problem and one that is difficult to explain to young men and women of color, particularly if we are asking those young people to reclaim this site as a community sanctuary. Rather than get angry Damarius showed amazing leadership and made friends with many of the local youth who regularly might “hang out” at No Man’s Land and who might also be involved in the vandalism. His question to them was “Why do you destroy the place where you live?” His work in stopping the vandalism was brilliant and has led us to deepen our work at No Man’s Land to create a sober and safe gathering space for all you live, work or go to school in south Boston