High School Survival Guide

Zines over crime: Empowering youth through DIY publishing

Can creative storytelling help keep kids out of trouble? That's the bold question driving High School Survival Guide, an innovative arts-based approach that's helping young people trade punishment for possibility.

The problem is clear: youth crime rates are climbing, and traditional punitive approaches aren't working. Instead of labeling at-risk upper-primary students as "troublemakers," this project hands them the tools to become storytellers of their own futures.

The secret weapon? Zines - those scrappy, self-published magazines that have given voice to underground communities for decades. Through zine-making workshops, students get to mess around with words and images, telling their life stories and mapping out their futures on their own terms.

Unlike mainstream publishing, with its focus on sales figures and grammar rules, zine culture celebrates raw creativity and authentic expression. Whether a story reaches thousands or just one reader, it matters. Students collaborate, giving each other feedback and building a supportive community of young creators.

The goal is straightforward: help young people see themselves as more than statistics or potential offenders. By nurturing their creative voices and building confidence through DIY publishing, High School Survival Guide aims to show at-risk youth that their stories - and their futures - are worth investing in.