I heard a story today. It was a short little story that probably wouldn’t have meant much to anyone but me. But it lit my heart and, to me, it meant the world.

The story was told to me by a student at Hartford Union High School, where, after two years of visioning, relationship-building, and working together with allies, we launched Jessie’s legacy project at her school with a schoolwide assembly presentation of A Message from Jessie. 1350 students and 120 faculty, the whole school, heard about her murder, her message, and her mission.

The student told me this: she saw a boy, another student, crying in the bleachers after the assembly. This boy was well known for being disrespectful and mean to girls, including the girl who told me this story. She went to him. She asked if he was OK. Sobbing, he asked her if he had ever done anything to hurt her. She told me she didn’t lie and say no; rather she said let’s talk about that another time and asked again if she could support him.

So many things I loved in that little story. First, he sat there afterwards, thinking. The presentation made him think. Second, he was humbly, vulnerably, and publicly seeking information on who he has been in the past. The presentation created the space for him to do that. Third, though he had been mean to her in the past, she went to him now to offer support anyway.  That speaks to her character, but also to the presentation’s powerful message of forgiveness. Finally, she had the courage to not lie, but chose kindness and compassion in her moment of truth.

If Jessie’s project can cause young people to look inward, re-evaluate, and aspire to become better people, if her message can move young hearts to suspend judgment and offer forgiveness and kindness undeserved, then we have the makings of something special here.

Our project has three prongs. First, initiating stories like the assembly, a powerful, personal, local story to capture young hearts and minds, create interest, and spur engagement. But we know a one and done story isn’t usually enough to cause lifetime behavior change. Prong two: the day after the assembly, in a thirty-minute homeroom, students discussed the impact that the assembly had on them, and also what their takeaways were. They also took the first two of fifteen mini lessons that we’ll deliver in homerooms all year long. Prong three: staff training in Trauma Informed Care, Healing Focused Care, and Motivational Interviewing, for the whole faculty.

Stay tuned. If and when we accomplish our mission to measurably decrease violence experienced by our students at Hartford Union High School, we’ll take our new proven effective model to other schools as far and wide as we can.

I believe Jessie is proud and excited to see what we can do together. Your support has been and will be invaluable. Let’s continue to vision, build connections, and collaborate until the vision is fulfilled.

Sincerely,
Buck Blodgett, Executive Director