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In recent years, we have seen several school districts close schools due to low enrollment. In 2022, the Aurora Public School Board voted to close Sable and Paris elementary schools. Saber Elemental was transformed to a preschool and is now Sable Child Development Center. There are plans to develop the former Paris Primary School into a three-storey community centre.
CBS
“We are bringing life to an area that was full of joy and excitement,” says Daniel Sampson, owner and founder of Driven by Our Ambitions. Sampson’s company provides mental health care and therapy to young people.
Because the school was empty, it was decided that it would be given a new purpose. Dr. Janiece Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Young Aspiring Americans for Social Political Activism, approached Sampson, as well as DL Pos Ryan and Andre Carbonell, of the Peace Youth Organization to form the ABC Collective. The three Black-owned businesses have combined efforts to make Paris Elementary a place that provides health and wellness programs, community engagement, education and workforce development.
“Resources around food and nutrition. Resources around child care. Resources around mental health care. Resources around different professions and different career paths that they could access,” Sampson said.
One way Sampson turns the quiet hallways into a mental health center is by using a barber chair, weight room and boxing ring. He said he wanted to use these non-traditional spaces as a way to give people new ways to talk about their mental health.
“This chair itself is like the Wonder Woman truth serum. Once a man from a certain culture sits in it, they feel welcome. They feel like they can be venerable,” he said. “It’s just an access point for adolescents and men of color in particular to enter the spaces and receive mental health care.”
Sampson and the rest of the ABC Collective hope the building will be ready to serve the North Aurora community early next year.
