Roxbury Youthworks’ Female Focus Initiative is Boston’s only female adolescent re-entry program; a program dedicated to supporting DYS and DSS involved adolescents as they transition back into the community from lock-up. Their “Still We Rise” building is now the home of a mural entitled “Still We Rise,” designed and painted by the girls themselves, and inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise.” The mural has been installed outside the building on Blue Hill Ave to be enjoyed by all those who walk or drive by. Mural Completed May 2006. See below for a link to a Herald article featuring the project.
“We created this mural by taking our words and putting it into something pretty and positive.” Teen painter/participant
“This mural inspires me because it makes me happy when I look at it… it is about metamorphosis, change, and bringing your spirits up.” Teen painter/participant
“I decided to be involved in this project because I wanted to do something constructive with my spare time.”
Teen painter/participant
Download PDF of Boston Herald article