Leaving Our Voices Everywhere

01/10/2026

We’re proud to introduce the Trauma-Informed Youth Leadership Institute.❤️

Developed by East Side Aligned, this institute is designed to equip young people with the knowledge, language, and tools to understand trauma and lead with empathy, accountability, and confidence. During the training, youth explored what trauma is, how it shows up in everyday life, and how personal and community experiences can shape emotions, behaviors, and relationships.

Participants gained practical trauma-informed skills, including identifying triggers, practicing emotional regulation, communicating effectively, and creating safer, more supportive spaces. A major focus of the institute was leadership development—intentionally building the capacity of youth to step into facilitator roles and lead conversations rooted in healing and community care.

Why this matters:
When young people are trauma-informed, they are better prepared to support themselves and others, make thoughtful decisions, and lead with intention. This institute is designed to move beyond learning into action—because our youth will be hosting and leading upcoming sessions, ensuring this work remains youth-driven and grounded in lived experience.

Training support:
The training was facilitated in collaboration with the Community Health Commission of Missouri, whose expertise helped strengthen and ground the learning experience.
We’re excited to build on this momentum. Youth-led sessions are launching soon, and we look forward to continuing this important work alongside our community.

06/06/2025

Happening TOMORROW!!!
*** See the update! *** 👀🥳🤑
Get registered and show up.

***Update; All attendees will be entered into a raffle to win a $50 gift card. We have 50 of them to distribute.***

Your voice matters. Let’s make it impossible to ignore.

Power Exchange is more than a gathering—it's a community-led movement to bring people of faith and action together to advocate for equity, justice, and accountability.

This is your space to elevate ideas, share lived experiences, and ensure that decisions affecting our neighborhoods reflect our needs, our values, and our power.

Raise your voice on Saturday, June 7 from 1–5 PM at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center, Argonne Dr, East St Louis, IL 62204.

Together, let’s build the future we deserve.

Register: bit.ly/power-exchange

06/02/2025

𝕐𝕠𝕦’𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 #𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕊𝕥𝕃𝕠𝕦𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕒. 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕚𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖, 𝕖𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣.
Too often, it feels like no one else sees what’s wrong—or cares enough to change it.
But the truth is: MANY OF US CARE. And we’re doing something about it!
Community meets connection at Power Exchange. We’re linking you with others who are just as committed to 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 in the East St. Louis area.

You’ll access resources from the Movement to . Plus, learn about and sign up to take action on key issues, including:
💫 Responding to Violence & Saving Lives
💫 Lifting up Youth Leadership
💫 Expanding Access to Early Childhood Care and Afterschool Programs
💫 Increasing Healthy Food Options & More!

We can’t wait for you to join us on Saturday, June 7, 2025 from 1-5pm at the JJK Center.
Register in advance to receive a FREE t-shirt at bit.ly/power-exchange

05/28/2025

📣 Public Education Needs You! 📣

Join students, parents, educators, and community members for a Public Education Town Hall on this Thursday, May 29th at East St. Louis Senior High School.

We’re coming together to raise our voices about the future of our schools and the critical funding needed to support students and educators across the country—including right here in East St. Louis.

🎤 Featuring national education leaders:
📍 Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski Nikki Budzinski (IL-13)
📍 NEA President Becky Pringle
📍 AFT President Randi Weingarten

🕔 Doors open at 4:30 PM | Event runs 5:00–6:30 PM
📍 East St. Louis Senior High School Auditorium
✅ RSVP is required: https://forms.gle/H97GGtnYCx5Sj8d66

Let’s show up and speak up—for our students, our teachers, and our schools. 💪🏾🍎

05/21/2025

📣 “Hopeful.” “Disappointed.” “Unorganized.” These are just a few of the words students, parents, and community members used to describe how they feel about our schools right now.

Let’s turn these words into action. 💬✊🏽

Join TODAY!!! Wednesday, May 21st at 5 PM for one of the last School Board Meetings before summer break. This is a key moment to raise our voices and push for stronger engagement as we look ahead to the next school year.

🗣 If you'd like to speak or ask a question, arrive by 4:30 PM.

📍Location: School District 189 Board of Education, 1005 State St., East St. Louis, IL
📸 Shoutout to everyone who joined us at Seats Taken: Let’s Talk Solutions—your voices made this word cloud possible!

United Congregations of Metro-East
NAACP East St. Louis Branch
East Side Aligned

05/17/2025

Happening TODAY!!! JOIN US!

ℂ𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕐𝕆𝕌𝕋ℍ, ℙ𝔸ℝ𝔼ℕ𝕋𝕊, 𝔼𝔻𝕌ℂ𝔸𝕋𝕆ℝ𝕊 & ℂ𝕆𝕄𝕄𝕌ℕ𝕀𝕋𝕐 𝕄𝔼𝕄𝔹𝔼ℝ𝕊

Join us for “𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧: 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬” — a youth-led, post-election community event where YOU get to engage directly with school board members about the future of School District 189.

🗓️ 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
🕒 𝟑:𝟎𝟎–𝟓:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌
📍 𝐖𝐲𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬 – 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃 (𝟔𝟎𝟏 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐑 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐯𝐝., 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐮𝐢𝐬, 𝐈𝐋 𝟔𝟐𝟐𝟎𝟏)

Come ready to listen, learn, ask questions, and be heard. 🗣️
✨ Hosted by L.O.V.E. in partnership with United Congregations of Metro-East & NAACP East St. Louis Branch

🔗 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝗼𝗻: https://secure.everyaction.com/uEsmBZAcwUqdGHxc88krIw2

📲 Tag a friend and help us spread the word!

05/14/2025

ℂ𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕐𝕆𝕌𝕋ℍ, ℙ𝔸ℝ𝔼ℕ𝕋𝕊, 𝔼𝔻𝕌ℂ𝔸𝕋𝕆ℝ𝕊 & ℂ𝕆𝕄𝕄𝕌ℕ𝕀𝕋𝕐 𝕄𝔼𝕄𝔹𝔼ℝ𝕊

Join us for “𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧: 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬” — a youth-led, post-election community event where YOU get to engage directly with school board members about the future of School District 189.

🗓️ 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
🕒 𝟑:𝟎𝟎–𝟓:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌
📍 𝐖𝐲𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬 – 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃 (𝟔𝟎𝟏 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐑 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐯𝐝., 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐮𝐢𝐬, 𝐈𝐋 𝟔𝟐𝟐𝟎𝟏)

Come ready to listen, learn, ask questions, and be heard. 🗣️
✨ Hosted by L.O.V.E. in partnership with United Congregations of Metro-East & NAACP East St. Louis Branch

🔗 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝗼𝗻: https://secure.everyaction.com/uEsmBZAcwUqdGHxc88krIw2

📲 Tag a friend and help us spread the word!

03/21/2025

📢 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐃: 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦

We regret to announce that our 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦, originally scheduled for 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡, has been 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬.

As a 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡-𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, LOVE (Leaving Our Voices Everywhere) strives to empower young leaders and ensure that our voices—and the voices of our community—are heard. This event, in partnership with NAACP East St. Louis Branch and United Congregations of Metro-East (UCM), was meant to provide a space for students, parents, and community members to engage directly with candidates.

Unfortunately, with only 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, we were left with no choice but to cancel. This is disappointing, as it was an opportunity for those seeking to represent our schools to 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞.

While this forum will not take place, our commitment to civic engagement 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. We encourage our community to stay informed, ask questions, and most importantly, 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟏𝐬𝐭.

Stay engaged. Stay informed. And 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐠𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝.

02/19/2025

📢 Join Us for LOVE In Action: Celebrating Black History! 🎉

We’re excited to invite you to an engaging and educational event celebrating Black history! Join us as we explore the contributions of influential Black figures through interactive activities and discussions.

📅 Date: Saturday, February 22, 2025
⏰ Time: 2 PM – 4 PM
📍 Location: East Side Aligned (1764 State St., East St. Louis, IL 62205)

This event is open to youth and adults (ages 13+), and light refreshments will be provided. Space is limited, so register now to secure your spot!

🔗 Register here or in our bio: https://forms.gle/gEuLNEE543nsvcNv8 or scan the QR code on the flyer.

Spread the word and tag a friend who should join you! We can’t wait to celebrate with you! 🖤✊🏾

12/12/2024

Joining East St. Louis School District 189 in Congratulating Paishynce on this amazing opportunity.
Paishynce has been a huge asset to our program. We look forward to seeing and hearing more about her growth in Leadership on a State-level.
Congrats again, Paishynce! 🎉👏🏾🥳

Student Spotlight:
Please join us in congratulating Paishynce Prude, Senior at East St. Louis Senior High School and Running Start Student at SWIC!!

Paishynce Prude has been selected by Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton to participate in the prestigious Girls Lead 2025 program, an initiative of the Illinois Council on Women and Girls. This elite program offers a transformative experience, including at least three days shadowing a female leader in state government and gaining insights from their team. As part of this mentoring initiative, Paishynce will also attend workshops and participate in “fireside chats” with high-ranking women leaders from across Illinois. In collaboration with her assigned office, she will delve into an ongoing policy issue, conduct research, and craft a paper presenting her personal recommendations for solutions.

Congratulations Paishynce!!!

10/24/2024

Join Us for a Youth-Led Voter Education Event! 🗳️

Get ready to make a difference! Join us on Oct. 29th to learn about the power of your vote.
Let's empower our community, one vote at a time! 🌟

What to Expect:
✅ A panel discussion with local youth and adult leaders
✅ Information on registering to vote and why your vote matters
✅️ A Mock Election
✅️ Light refreshments

📍 Where: East St Louis Public Library (5300 State St., E St Louis, IL 62203)

🕒 When: Tues., Oct 29th from 5:00p-7:00p

Let’s come together to get informed, register, and take action! Your vote is your voice—let’s use it!