My work with Oakland-based nonprofit organization, Beats, Rhymes and Life (BRL) helped grow its local and national visibility through brand and message development and media relations. BRL utilizes hip-hop as a means of engaging Bay Area youth in mental health and wellness. BRL primarily serves youth who have experienced trauma as a result of living in areas of concentrated disadvantage.
I served as copywriter and copyeditor for grant proposals, as well as, digital and print media, including email communications, social media, website content, brochures, and media releases like those featured below. I also collaborated with BRL youth interns and leveraged my storytelling abilities to help produce video content highlighting youth stories and BRL's community impact.
Type: Press Release - Beats, Rhymes and Life
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New documentary highlights how mental health advocacy group in Oakland is using Hip Hop Therapy to reach at-risk youth
Oakland, California--In 2007, approximately one-fourth of all Oakland youth lived below the federal poverty line and 61 percent lived in low-income households. In 2008, Oakland ranked fourth in the nation for its homicide rate, which is currently the leading cause of death for young people in the city. Research also shows a troubling rate of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) amongst Oakland youth, causing many to wonder what can be done to support youth in healing and living healthy lives.
Oakland-based organization, Beats Rhymes and Life has teamed up with Bay Area filmmaker, Kerri Gawryn to produce, A Lovely Day--a moving film that speaks to the harsh realities and perseverance demonstrated in a group of Oakland teens on their journey to self-discovery and empowerment. The film depicts how Beats Rhymes and Life successfully uses Hip Hop as a tool for healing and youth development in a city afflicted by violence and poverty.
“By using Hip Hop as a catalyst for transformation, Beats Rhymes and Life is helping youth of color heal from emotional trauma and develop self-confidence in order to lead healthy and successful lives. A Lovely Day tells the personal stories of several of our youth who provide powerful examples of creativity, resilience, and hope,” says Tomás Alvarez III, M.S.W., Founder and Executive Director of Beats Rhymes and Life.
WHAT: Film Screening for A Lovely Day
WHEN: Thursday, October 11th, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Grand Lake Theatre, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland, CA 94610
WHEN: Thursday, October 11th, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Grand Lake Theatre, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland, CA 94610
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Beats Rhymes and Life, Inc. (BRL) is a 501c3 Oakland-based organization dedicated to improving mental health and social outcomes amongst urban youth. In 2004, BRL pioneered one of the country’s first Hip Hop Therapy programs.
Type: News Release - Beats, Rhymes and Life
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NBCLatino Names Oakland Social Worker Top Innovator for Pioneering Hip Hop Therapy
Oakland, California--In a city with some of the highest rates of homicide, poverty, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder amongst youth in the nation, Social Worker, Tomás Alvarez III has found the tool to reach some of Oakland’s most at-risk youth: hip hop. On October 8th, Alvarez was recognized amongst the top 20 innovators of 2012 by NBC Latino for his groundbreaking Hip Hop Therapy program which utilizes the process of creating rap music to promote positive mental health and social outcomes for youth turned off by traditional talk therapy.
“My goal was to find a way to better serve the mental health needs of youth of color by looking at the ways young people are already healing and helping themselves” says Alvarez. “A lot of inner city youth are drawn to Hip Hop, many write rap music or poetry as a way to release stress, all I did was build a therapeutic model that drew from community defined strategies to wellness. Mental health professionals need to look beyond the boombox and see how Hip Hop can serve as an important cultural bridge”.
Alvarez is the Founder and Executive Director of Beats, Rhymes and Life, a 501(c)(3) Oakland-based organization whose mission is to promote positive mental health outcomes among youth and young adults of color by using Hip Hop as a catalyst for change and development.
To learn more about Beats, Rhymes and Life, watch this video on NBCLatino:
http://nbclatino.com/2012/10/08/tomas-alvarez-teaches-kids-to-beat-lifes-troubles-with-rhymes/
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