NASHUA – In an effort to empower middle-school aged youth to use photography to display their community as they see it, the City of Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services (DPHCS) facilitated its sixth annual PhotoVoice project this summer with Greater Nashua Youth.

The community will have an opportunity to see the final artwork at the Greater Nashua PhotoVoice Gallery on August 17, 2022 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Nashua Public Library (2 Court Street, Nashua, NH 03060). This is an interactive event that is free and open to the public.

PhotoVoice is a program used worldwide that allows individuals to explore important topics within a community and express themselves through photography. This project allows youth to break past communication barriers that often prevent them from expressing their concerns. PhotoVoice has been implemented in Greater Nashua by the Nashua Police Athletic League, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Nashua, Boys and Girls Club of Souhegan Valley, and Nashua 21st Century.

The goals of this project are multiple: to enable youth participants to record and reflect their community’s strengths and concerns; to promote critical dialogue and knowledge about personal and community issues within the chosen topic through large and small group discussions; and to provide visual representation(s) of community experiences within the public health context, while engaging policymakers and stakeholders.

The theme of this year’s project is Who or what makes you resilient?. This project truly is what substance misuse prevention looks like, as it focuses on building up healthy, successful youth that in turn create healthy and successful communities.

If you have questions or would like more information, visit www.nashuanh.gov/1397/PhotoVoice or contact Leah Elliott, DPHCS Behavioral Health Specialist, at ElliottL@nashuanh.gov or 603-589-4536.