Local Organizations To Rally For Fair Housing

February 28, 2008

Bowling Green, Ky. - Kaleidoscope Youth in Arts is partnering with other area organizations for a community event to address issues of fair housing in Bowling Green.
           
The program, titled unCOMMon UNITY, will be at Broadway United Methodist Church, 1323 Melrose St., at 6:30 p.m. March 4.  It will integrate music, dance, spoken word, visual arts and digital arts with stories from the community.  This event is part of the Voices 4 Justice series and seeks to bring together various faith-based and community organizations around issues of social justice.   It is free and open to the public and aims to move people from awareness to activism.
           
Kaleidoscope is a grant-sponsored program in the Psychology Department at Western Kentucky University. Throughout the past two months youth from across the city have joined with adults and community leaders to produce artistic expressions designed to share the stories and concerns of those affected by housing discrimination and unfair rental practices. 
           
Several churches, including Christ Episcopal, Broadway Methodist and the Unitarian Universalist Church, have taken part in preparing for the event. Local organizations participating have included The Human Rights Commission, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Kentucky Legal Aid, Housing Authority of Bowling Green and Habitat for Humanity.
           
Kaleidoscope’s previous performances in the Voices 4 Justice series have been well attended with a total of nearly 1,000 people having participated in the previous two events.  The program is unique because it gives a voice and avenue for youth to speak about issues that concern them and their neighbors.  By combining the expressive power of the arts with issues that matter, unCOMMon UNITY is sure to make a lasting impact.
           
Kaleidoscope is a community-based youth development program dedicated to a vision of a just and compassionate society that celebrates the value of young people and the transformative power of love; where, by participation in the arts and critical reflection, people better understand themselves and their responsibility to each other.  This vision is pursued by providing youth with opportunities to explore the arts, develop supportive relationships and create positive contributions for individual and community change.
           
For more information, call (270) 282-4433 or email info@kaleidoscopebg.com.  The Kaleidoscope offices are located at 1350 Durbin Drive.

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For more information, call (270) 282-4433.