This community and health-care worker helps youth find their passions

CBC Quebec is highlighting people from the province's Black communities who are giving back, inspiring others and helping to shape our future. These are the Black Changemakers.

Stephen Hennessy grew up with his mother telling him that wherever you are, you should be making a positive impact on those around you. And if that space is too negative, consider leaving it.

He now spends much of his time working with young people, passing on that same message and helping them get through difficult times.

Hennessy does this through his work at community centres in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, where he lives, and in neighbouring Côte-des-Neiges — and as an educator at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital, where he works with kids and families in crisis.

"I'm a hungry guy," says Hennessy of all the work he does for the community. "Put something on my plate, and I'll get at it."

As a basketball coach and teen program co-ordinator at the Westhaven Elmhurst Community Recreation Association, he helps connect kids with their passions, in particular music and sports — important parts of his own life as he grew up in Montreal's LaSalle borough and later in the West Island.

After graduating from high school, he moved to NDG where he further pursued his passion for hip-hop while attending college.

He continues to follow that passion, both as a host on McGill University's campus radio station CKUT and by running a music studio at Westhaven, where young people learn how to create beats and can record themselves three nights a week.

"It's easy to stay focused, stay on path and feel positive about yourself if you're doing something that you're passionate about," he says. He has seen how music and sports can also be therapeutic.

"There are people who brought that into my life, so I'm glad to be able to pass that onto other people. For me, that's like medicine."

His experience as a father to two girls and his time as a stepfather informs his work with kids, helping them understand the impact their everyday interactions can have on others.

Hennessy's stepson, Darius Brown, was killed in November 2016 when he was 17 years old. Like Hennessy, Brown worked with kids at Westhaven.

"With Darius's situation, the biggest thing is it's a reminder of how precious life is. Something can be one thing one day, and then completely be flipped," said Hennessy.

"Where there is life, there is hope. And that's the hardest thing about death."

Working with youth and families in crisis, Hennessy is able to bring this sensitivity and understanding to the aid of others in his work at the hospital.

"There are many who have made it through and are stronger people. That fuels me."

"But there are some kids, whatever goals you had for them, they're not able to get there," he concedes. "You still try to push forward."

The Black Changemakers is a special series recognizing individuals who, regardless of background or industry, are driven to create a positive impact in their community. From tackling problems to showing small gestures of kindness on a daily basis, these changemakers are making a difference and inspiring others. Meet all the changemakers here.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.