Hope is Something You Do

The House of Peace Teen Leaders present "Hope Is Something You Do" twice a year, every January and March. If you would like to have a group of middle school youth attend next year, contact Lisa.

“Hope Is Something You Do” is a four-hour workshop on peaceful conflict resolution skills. The Teen Leaders, a group of trained high school students, present this workshop twice a year to middle school students from Milwaukee schools and churches.

Click here to learn more about this Teen Leader workshop.

Participants who attend “Hope is Something You Do” will learn the following skills and concepts:

• Four personal styles of solving conflicts that are almost always unsuccessful

• The one personal style of solving conflicts (Called the “True Me”) that is almost always successful

• The skills of “careful listening” and “careful talking” that help you get to “win-win” in most conflicts

• Four types of conflict to help you analyze a situation and figure out exactly who or what is in conflict with who or what.

• Three main causes of conflicts to help you realize what is behind a conflict

Using skits, storytelling, role plays, and simulation games, the participants have several opportunities to practice their new skills and apply them to situations at home, with friends, and at school. In the final activity, they role play the method as two countries at war attempting to end the killing and hatred, and negotiate terms for peace. m

s for peace.

2008-2009 schedule:

January 24, 2009:

House of Peace

March 28, 2009:

House of Peace

The House of Peace Teen Leaders

talk about

Hope Is Something You Do

“Hope Is Something You Do” is a workshop that teaches middle school youth how to become peacemakers. 

It is presented by us, by the House of Peace

Teen Leaders.

We practice once a month to get ready for the two workshops we present each year. We teach peacemaking through skits, activities, role plays and stories. And this is such important work. If more children learned to be natural peacemakers,

then they would grow up knowing the skills, and eventually, we would have a country full of peacemakers.

“Hope Is Something You Do” has really changed me because I think twice before reacting in a conflict.

This program helps inner city youth promote peace and it brings them together in a good environment.

We work as a team every month, and our goal is to spread our message to other youth and to improve Milwaukee’s reputation as a peaceful place. 

Before I was part of the House of Peace, I didn’t exactly know how to effectively solve problems.  Presenting “Hope Is Something You Do” has given me the proper tools to solve issues peacefully.

That in itself has changed my life for the better.  

“Hope is Something You Do” has helped me feel more confident about bringing peace to the world. 

I know I can help others solve conflicts without fighting.

I now am more open to hearing different views on different conflicts around the world.

“Hope Is” teaches that all conflicts that can be solved with talking and listening.

Here’s an example.

Over the summer, I work with children at my job. One time, two kids were arguing and I had to stop it. They were in the swimming pool and one was splashing the other one too much. The other one didn’t want to play anymore. I had them sit down and talk to each other. They were only seven or eight years old. I had the first one talk and the second one had to wait until the first one finished talking. Then the second one could say how he felt and what he wanted to do.