Today, we are excited to share a new milestone: the first peer-reviewed publication that highlights the impact of Art Heals Arizona’s programming. (Cultivating Healing: Trauma-informed Arts-based Programming for Youth Experiencing Parental Separation or Homelessness in the United States by Jayley A. Janssen, Ronae Matriano, Matt Sandoval, Danielle Tefft, Kerri Kaczmarczyk and Eva Marie Shivers)
For years, Art Heals Arizona has witnessed the power of art, connection, and community to support healing among youth who have experienced trauma.
As evaluators, Indigo Cultural Center has been in collaboration with Art Heals Arizona for about 5 years, collecting evidence of the organization’s healing impact with the children and teens who engage in their programming. Our goal has been to better understand how healing-centered, arts-based programming can support resilience and healing for children and teens who experience parental separation due to abuse, neglect, or homelessness.
This publication is a glimpse into the amazing outcomes our evaluation is finding from Art Heals Arizona’s programming. This paper found that through the establishment of safety and connection, children and teens who experienced trauma developed a stronger sense of who they are and a greater belief in their ability to shape their futures. By creating spaces that feel welcoming and by training volunteers and artists to use trauma-informed approaches, spaces are created where youth explore who they are and feel more prepared to handle challenges in their future. All of this points to the conclusion that Art Heals Arizona’s programming helps foster resilience and healing!
Though we are so proud of this publication and the work we continue doing together to demonstrate Art Heals Arizona’s positive impact on communities, this work only validates what youth, mentors, and families have known throughout Art Heals Arizona’s existence: that art heals!
What we hope to amplify through this publication is that programs like Art Heals Arizona can create meaningful impacts for youth, and that healing-centered, arts-based approaches shouldn’t be seen as secondary or supplemental, but should be prioritized by policymakers, child welfare systems, and anyone connecting with youth who have experienced trauma.
We are so excited to continue sharing the wonderful work we’re able to do with Art Heals Arizona, and we are incredibly grateful to the Art Heals Arizona team, the mentors and volunteers, and of course to the children and teens who have participated and allowed us into their lives to document this fantastic program. We are honored to get to share these stories and continue learning alongside this community.
To request a copy of this published paper in the Child Welfare Journal, email CEO Matt Sandoval.
