A unique photo contest from a local suicide awareness group is trying to highlight the overwhelming presence of hope in even the most unlikely corners of Moose Jaw.
The Journey to Hope youth chapter is currently calling out to the Moose Jaw and area community to send in photos that showcase what hope looks like to them.
“The whole idea behind it was encouraging people to kind of put on the lens of their outlook to see hope in our community, just around them in life,” said Della Ferguson, representative from Journey to Hope.
Each photo is meant to show off a place, thing, or feeling in the community that evokes a sense of hope in the photographer, as a way of illuminating all the different ways hope can bloom within a community.
Submissions are encouraged to include a caption explaining what about the photo shows hope, to illuminate the many different forms of the feeling, and can be sent in by anyone — adults and youth, professional and amateur photographers, there’s no limit.
“We want to empower and encourage our community to be watching and looking through the lens of hope,” said Ferguson.
Youth chapter member Dan Silvester organized the contest with Ferguson’s help, and is collecting the photo submissions as they come in. The photos are being featured on the Journey to Hope Instagram page, with captions explaining the submission.
The contest is not competitive, as all submissions will be entered into a random draw for a $25 gift certificate to Evolve coffee shop, to be drawn on Feb. 12. Rather, the idea was to foster the ability to look around and see hope in any situation or locale, as an everyday mechanism for coping with life.
“If we are able to start practicing looking for hope and looking through our eyes with a lens that sees hope in new ways, then it gives us a tool when life is tough, when difficulties arise,” said Ferguson.
The contest will unofficially wrap up with an open mic night on Feb. 13 at Evolve from 7 to 9 p.m., which the youth chapter has organized for both themselves and the community.
The theme of the night is “hope is spoken here,” said Ferguson, and those who take part are encouraged to bring written pieces, poetry, or music telling their story of hope.
Members from Journey to Hope will be taking part, reading their own written reflections of hope, and the public is welcome to join them on stage with their own perceptions of hope.
Submissions to the Journey to Hope photo contest can be sent directly to journeytohope2019@gmail.com, with a deadline of Feb. 12 at noon. Those interested in taking part in the open mic night can also email for details on the event’s guidelines.
