Leo Johnson is a top mover and shaker in Hamilton
- Cynthia Carpenter
- 06 Nov 2019
Empowerment Squared, at King William and Walnut Street in Hamilton, houses a valuable space for newcomers and Hamiltonians to contribute their skills toward building a better community. The thrust of this movement originates with founder and poetic philanthropist Leo Johnson who is backed by staff and active volunteers.
The building Empowerment Squared occupies stood vacant for two years, then came to life as a permanent home for the organization in 2017. The main objective is to support the needs of refugee children and youth arriving in Hamilton. The focus on young people fulfills a specific deficit, as children can be under represented among Canada’s new arrivals. Their specific needs differ and include mental health, specifically pre- and post-migration and settlement trauma.
Broader considerations for newcomers hinge on a sense of disempowerment, a deficit-based approach that assumes newcomers are needy and victims rather than recognising their skills and contributions. Sustainable support systems are the main issue, and the process of integration is a lifetime experience.
The first year of a newcomer’s life in Canada is when the trauma relaxes, and this is aligned with when the city is excited about offering services to new arrivals. Campaigns often occur over the first six months of arrival. At a later date, when people need the support most, they can be abandoned. Empowerment Squared intends to address awareness of these short falls and build community support through a Gala, in recognition of the efforts and benefits newcomers bring to the city. Planning is underway and the Gala is anticipated for May 2020.
Leo states that he does not speak on behalf of anyone. If people identify with his words and they resonate, so be it. People have put their lives on the line for him and he feels compelled to reciprocate.
So much of what I was fortunate enough to hear resonated with me. Empowerment Squared has the tagline, “The Power of People”. The idea of people over money is one I genuinely share. When asked how Hamilton in general can move towards this reality, Leo responds that he lived most of his life without money. Money is a medium that we have placed more emphasis on than the other tools in our toolbox.
Leo suggests listing what we have here in the city rather than concentrating on a deficit model highlighting what we must do. He says stop listing things we need and start looking at what exists and question whether we are adding value to these spaces and resources as a community. This supports a point of view of dignity for us all. We can consider the city the way we look at people — as worthy rather than victims.
When asked how Empowerment Squared helps overcome the friction of original cultural practises being compromised by new Canadian laws and expectations of society, Leo notes that the key is teaching adaptability in order to change parents’ strategies. In other words, giving them the tools to adapt to new ways of achieving the same result. For instance, one can spank their child, not in anger, but appropriately.
eo suggests engagement in dialogue as to how this made the child feel relative to their misdemeanor. He links his example to spanking a child that has overpowered another child, then engaging in a dialogue about how the overpowering of the spanking feels. This way we empower newcomers with tools they may never have had access to before. The result of the teaching is achieved amicably within the laws and expectations here in Canada.
There is an annual Community Report which discusses actual changes and impact made by the organization the previous year, such as how many young people became engaged, what improved, and what got worse. Analyzing what went wrong is an honest and transparent approach that establishes emerging needs for the coming year. The assessing of emerging needs is continual and links to the success of Empowerment Squared. 2020 will focus on bringing the Children’s Aid Society and parents on board to understand parenting rules and laws in order to prevent last year’s overwhelming negative occurrence of children being taken from their families.
The meeting also lends itself to educating people as to how they can contribute to building a better community via Empowerment Squared. This meeting was held last week and is open and made accessible to the whole of the community. Empowerment Squared works closely with school children and youth, therefore the Community Report is aligned with the school year.
Leo’s engrossing philosophy lingers along with my attraction to the colourful drums. It is difficult to leave them. I look forward to the continued positive impact Empowerment Squared will bring for the remainder of the year and beyond.
To support or learn more, please visit empowermentsquared.org
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