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  • 1 year ago
On Thursday, we introduced you to Kelly Ann Shortte who was previously incarcerated and is now a student of the Link Up Programme at the College of Science Technology and Applied Arts of T&T.


You heard about some of her struggles, including finding a job and having to halt her dance classes in Laventille because of a lack of resources.


What you did not hear is how much working with young girls means to her, and why.


Alicia Boucher gives you a deeper insight into Shortte's aspirations.
Transcript
00:00It's important to guide young people in a way that will enable them to have a positive
00:05mindset which will, in turn, steer them away from crime.
00:10These are sentiments expressed by many in society over and over again.
00:15But for Kellyanne Short, these sentiments mean something different than it does to people
00:21who have generally walked the straight and narrow pathway in life.
00:25She is seeing signs of ruin in the country, which she can identify from what was once
00:31her own dark and gripping reality, a reality she regrets.
00:55Short was released in 2022.
01:15She embraced an opportunity from Vision and Mission, allowing her to do mentorship talks
01:19in schools.
01:21But her passion lies in music and dance.
01:24She tells us she was able to take a dance class she formed in Prisca Lands in Laventille
01:29to perform at a national academy for the performing arts.
01:32It was a very beautiful, beautiful experience working with the kids.
01:37It was really, really nice.
01:38It allowed me to express my experience growing up and what I've been through, especially
01:47to the ladies, explaining them, you know, how it is, what they need to do, what things
01:54that they need to change.
01:56The group comprised eight children, seven girls and one boy, between the ages of five
02:01and 13.
02:02I couldn't have kept it up because of funding and being now released from prison.
02:08It was hard for me.
02:09So I had to let go my kids with the intentions of taking them back when I could be stable.
02:18Approximately two years after regaining her freedom, she still longs for that stability,
02:22as many businesses will not hire an ex-convict.
02:26Short views music as a tool of expression, which, coupled with a safe environment, can
02:31bring about change.
02:32Where they can express what they feel, and not be afraid to tell mommy or daddy or auntie
02:39or whoever.
02:40And we formed that place where they could come and see what is really bothering them
02:45and know that it's going to stay there, and, you understand, I believe that it can help.
02:49She believes the experiences of people who have been through the prison system can speak
02:54volumes to young people.
02:55Prison is not a better place to watch the things that are coming out, where you're seeing
02:59people in prison talking about it.
03:01No, it is hard.
03:04It is really hard.
03:05It is sad.
03:06It is depressing, right, to be locked away in a cell by yourself, you understand, dark.
03:12You know, you want just your thoughts, you can't go crazy in there, away from your family,
03:17away from everything.
03:18You are restricted.
03:19There's a time to go in your bed, there's a time to get up, bathe, eat.
03:23Short says her vision for herself will remain centered on positively impacting young people,
03:29and she hopes that ex-convicts will be given a chance to help make the change that she
03:34believes they can make in the country.
03:37Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
03:42Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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