Performing artists for struggling youth

    “When my own little brother fell prey to drugs and violence and depression, I got my wake up call,” says Meagan Chandler, multi-ethnic performing artist and founder of the Hermanito Project. “Suddenly I was faced with how much of a struggle it really is for kids out there today, and it became a necessity to reach out and really do something to help. I realized that performing is the best way I have to help, so I have joined forces with my fellow ethnic performing artists to call for community support, through our benefit concerts in New Mexico and Colorado."

According to the 2005 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 35.9% of children in high school in the United States have been involved in violent altercations, 25.5% of children are classified as heavy drinkers by their senior year, and 16.9% have seriously considered attempting suicide. While grants are often awarded to youth programs, it is very difficult for individuals and families to find practical help when their own children are in need.

About the Hermanito Project Founder
Hermanito Project Events Calendar
Donating to the Hermanito Project
Hermanito Project Volunteer Opportunities
The Story of the Hermanito Project

About the Hermanito Project Founder
       

Meagan Chandler has always had a passion for music, singing, dance, teaching and travel. A native of Boulder, Colorado, her music and dance studies over the past 13 years have included Spanish flamenco, Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Balkan styles, as well as American jazz, choral and hip-hop. In search of the essence of the art forms that have shaped her, she has traveled to Spain, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, India and Japan. She has also done intensive studies in creative healing movement forms, with Jenna Woods, Melony Murphy, and Melissa Michaels. Her continuing association with Melissa includes extensive work in rites of passage with youth, in the US and internationally. Meagan has performed with Colorado-based musical groups Ojaléo and Sherefé, in Santa Fe with María Benitez' youth flamenco company Next Generation, and with many others as well. She has collaborated on two CD's with guitarist Steve Mullins of Ojaléo, and currently performs, records, leads workshops and teaches privately in Colorado and New Mexico.

The C.S. Landre Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public benefits, non-profit organization that assists families with their at-risk teens. When you donate to us through them, using our reference number 0613DUR, 6% of your donations go to support their work and the remaining 94% goes directly to The Hermanito Project.

For more information on the C.S.Landre Foundation, visit www.cslandre.org

Hermanito Project Volunteer Opportunities
I would like to approach this effort from many directions. Any suggestions or information or help in raising further funds would be much appreciated. We are currently preparing to put on benefit concerts and silent auctions in both Colorado and New Mexico, and any help with these events would also be a great gift. We are very grateful for your time and anything else you wish to offer!

To volunteer:
Please email me or call me, Meagan Chandler at (720)436-1332

The Story of the Hermanito Project
When I arrived in Boulder in June 2006, I found my teenaged brother in a very desperate situation. He was caught up in heavy drug use, and was swinging wildly between suicidal depression and uncontrollable rage. He had already been struggling for some time with drug addiction, had dropped out of school, and had experienced several incidents with the law. The measures taken to help him in his immediate environment hadn't been enough to address his problems. My mother and I decided to take full measures to address his desperate state. I felt that if we did not, he would inevitably end up in jail for the long term, or dead. And so I contacted an educational consultant, who helped my mother and me to assess the full picture of my brother's situation, and, based on that assessment, to choose the best treatment facility and school for his care.

We decided on Eagle's Nest School for Boys. Eagle’s Nest is located just outside Woodland Park, Colorado. It is a residential facility dedicated to assisting each struggling teenage boy they accept, by attending to his emotional healing and by equipping him with tools that enable him to create his own emotional, mental, physical and spiritual well-being for the balance of his life. Academic achievement is an important aspect of their program as well.

Because we did not believe my brother would go willingly to this program, we hired a Transport Service to take him there. He entered the program on June 13th, 2006. From the program’s beginning, my mom and I kept in close touch with him, tracking his progress, talking with him, visiting him, and attending parenting workshops. Initially, he went through an intense period of adjustment and resistance; over time, he began to open up, to communicate more, and to uncover what he needed in order to move towards making healthier decisions.  Finally, he decided that he needed an extended period of drug rehabilitation, so we helped him move to a residential facility in California. In the late fall, he was released to live with my mother; he has now begun reintegrating into the world and trying to figure out what he needs to do next, to put together a healthy life.

Overall, I feel that this was an investment into the future health of our society. My brother is extremely bright and insightful, with a great deal of passion; and, he is accumulating wisdom. I know that when our deepest wounds are addressed and attended to, they become our greatest gifts for this world. If my little brother can wrestle with his suffering with the support of a loving and professional environment, and gain the tools to address the things that have been holding him back, he has the potential to become to a fierce leader in helping others to do the same. He has a great opportunity to uncover his gifts for this world, and to find his way through the maze of his past in order to give those gifts to a world that truly needs them.

The most difficult part of this situation is the financial burden. My brother’s program at Eagle's Nest was 4 months long. The tuition for the school is $5900 per month. We have reached the end of our resources, and we must now turn to our community for help. Our goal is to raise $24,000 to cover his tuition. Any donations to help cover the cost of my brother’s program in support of his precious, blossoming life will make a world of difference.

In deepest sincerity, love and service, thank you.
Meagan Chandler
Founder, The Hermanito Project