Artvango's clients are children in the foster care system and don't have much to begin with . We need art supplies for our young clients to conduct online art therapy and keep the kids engaged while on their virtual sessions with us. Many children only have pencils, markers and paper. Our goal is to provide them with paints, canvas, play doh, sensory toys beads, glue, yarn and to be able to creatively engage with them in virtual sessions. These art materials will enrich their therapy experience
Children in the Bexar county foster care system in 2019 exceeded 19,231. That number continues to rise even with the pandemic in 2020 and children are experiencing trauma due to abuse and neglect. Unresolved trauma masks itself as ADHD, behavioral issues, anxiety, rebellion. Most children in the foster care system have a diagnosis, are on medication and are seen as problematic children instead of children who have experienced trauma. Children need a form of expressive therapy to help them heal.
Art materials are needed to provide children who don't have anything to call their own. Materials will be used in therapeutic activities in counseling sessions to help traumatized kids who tend to not utilize words to express how they are feeling. Art therapy focuses on providing therapy that is tailored to each child's age and developmental stage in life in order for them to self-express in a form that is safe and inviting with a trained trauma therapist.
Creativity impacts children in memorable ways that traditional therapy does not. Expressive therapies, give children the opportunity to become active participants in their own treatment and empower them to use imagination in productive and corrective ways. Whether through art, play, music, movement, enactment, or creative writing, expressive therapies stimulate the senses, thereby "sensitizing" children to untapped aspects of themselves and thus facilitating self-discovery, change and healing.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
