Wellness and Prevention

 

DecisionArts

An innovative peer leadership, after school violence prevention program for inner city adolescent girls in Boston, provided in collaboration with the Youth Services, Witness to Violence and Behavioral Health Departments at Whittier Street Health Center. The program combines arts, educational support, mentoring, and community service to assist young women to successfully pursue healthy choices that lead to a meaningful, productive and positive adulthood.

Girls World
This after-school program helps young women successfully pursue choices that lead to a productive and positive adulthood. In collaboration with Dimock Community Health Center and the Boston Coalition of 100 Black Women, we have created a program to encourage individual strength and personal identity in the largely urban world of the girls it targets. The program has five major components: expressive arts groups, academic support, mentoring, physical education and community service. Girls World is designed to build a community that values and nurtures young women with opportunities for meaningful, safe, and self-assured lives.

The Big Draw Creative Arts Camp for Girls
The Big Draw is a comprehensive visual and performing arts camp that creates a memorable summer experience while addressing crucial developmental needs. The camp provides young girls ages 6-12 from the Boston area with a total arts experience. Local artists team with our arts therapists to transform the summer into a collage of excitement and growth through in depth exploration of visual art, dance, music, drama, photography, video and creative writing.

New Visions for At-Risk Youth
Using an innovative new curriculum designed by our arts therapists, at-risk and incarcerated youth are guided though powerful artistic experiences specially designed to help them deal with the challenges in their lives. They learn how to: recognize and enact positive alternatives to violence they may have witnessed, been victims of, and/or perpetrated; and approach sexuality in an appropriate, respectful and safe manner. Under the guidance of a skilled arts therapist, using non-verbal expression, youth can safely explore traumatic situations that are difficult to talk about.

Shelters and Transitional Housing
This program helps women and children heal from deep wounds and rebuild their lives. Our arts therapists visits shelters and provide counseling to those in need. We also facilitate community building arts programming and events.

Curriculum Based Arts Programs
Using the arts to address teen issues, this program is customized to the needs of each school. Some of the issues addressed are: AIDS, sexuality, substance abuse, relationships, eating disorders and suicide. Our goal is to empower teens with a new respect for their lives and the lives of others.

The Living Tree - A Healing Arts Project
The Living Tree workshop, was developed in response to the events of September 11th, and has been particularly meaningful to Boston area residents.