WE ARE EVERYWHERE was conceived as a gift of inspiration to those young people who are currently aging out of government care. It was inspired and produced in collaboration with community-engaged artists Corin Browne and Patti Fraser with youth in care advocate Violet-Rose Pharaoh, whose own life had been shaped by the foster care system, and who has dedicated much her adult life to shifting the paradigm of youth in care from surviving to thriving.
The content of this book was created in part through community-engaged gatherings of art making, conversation, and inquiry based on the question: “What do I know now that I would tell my 19-year-old self?” The extraordinary ordinary individuals you will meet in the book have all shared the experience of growing up in government care. And there is a need to hear the stories of lived experience from the over one million Canadians who are connected to the foster care system.
The narratives about being in a youth in care rarely speaks to the diversity of experience, the strength, the resilience, and the wisdom of the many, many individuals who lived and survived the government care system, and who are now living lives full of meaning and rich with experience.
Inspired by the generosity of the individuals featured in this book and by the remarkable photographs of Sarah (a.k.a Emmet) Race We are Everywhere is intended to be words of advice to youth who are still in care, but this book will challenge all its readers to reconsider the narrow story of those who survived government care.
The spirit of this collection of interviews is an invitation to us all; particularly to our 19-year-old selves, whether we experienced government care or not, to learn from the collective insights and wisdom of these generous and amazing people.
Our first print run is for 1500 copies of this beautiful book. We will be gifting 800 copies of the book to youth currently or soon to age out of government care and 700 copies to community members. Distribution of the books will be done in collaboration with provincial youth serving organizations and events during BC Youth in Care week from Monday, June 3 - Sunday, June 9, 2019.
With gratitude to Tonya Martin and Meghan Hague at McKellar & Martin Publishing Group for their
generous mentorship at shepherding this new medium with the artistic team from We Are Everywhere Project.
The We Are Everywhere project was made possible with the generous support from:
