Funded Projects

Resilience Through Art: An Anti-ACEs Initiative

Project Year

2023

City & State

Hallandale Beach, Florida

Program Name

CATCH Resident

Topic

Mental Health (LHI)

Program Description

In the city of Hallandale Beach, specifically on the western end of the city, many citizens earn less than their counterparts who live on the eastern end. This difference in income and ultimately in socioeconomic status can skew the data collected with regards to income and crime rate. Even with these differences in mind, the median household income in Hallandale Beach is $40,237, which is significantly lower than that of the US ($70,784). This translates to a poverty rate of 20.7% and a crime rate that is higher than 80% of cities nationwide. Given the socioeconomic challenges, children of Hallandale Beach would be at an increased risk of being affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). As per the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood which can include, but are not limited to, experiencing or witnessing violence, abuse, or having a family member attempt or die by suicide. ACEs are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness and substance use problems in adolescence and adulthood. They can negatively impact education and have long-term negative outcomes on job opportunities and earning potential. Approximately 6,500 children live in Hallandale Beach, and given the city’s overall lower earning statistics, this puts these children at a higher risk for ACEs. ACEs however can be reduced through improving feelings of self-worth and teaching resilience. Expressing yourself through art helps to bring your ideas to life, refines problem-solving skills and acts as an outlet for your emotions. These aspects in turn help to improve the way you feel about yourself, help to build resilience, and thus combat ACEs. We have identified the Austin Hepburn Community Center which provides services to the community and is a valuable resource for the economically fragile population. They have a daily after-school program for approximately 166 children ranging from ages 4-13 years old. This center would act as the hub for our project. We plan to introduce an art program which will enable children to learn a new skill and express themselves through art. Our intervention is intended to not only build resilience, but also self-esteem. With the help of a local art instructor, we will conduct bi-monthly, theme-driven, art sessions with the children using different media (i.e. markers, clay, paint and pencils) The goal is to expose them to a new way of expressing themselves while encouraging creativity. At the end of our 12-month project, we will host an art show for our participants to showcase their work. Local pediatricians will be encouraged to view the exhibits and award prizes for various categories. We will provide surveys to the participants at the beginning and at the end art program to determine their feelings of self-worth. At the end of our project, we anticipate that the participants would have learned a new skill through which they can express their emotions/experiences/trauma, and ultimately will have turned those experiences into works of art. Our overall goals are to improve self-worth; to instill resilience and pride through art; and to ultimately reduce the negative impact that ACEs can have on our participants. References: - U.S. Census Bureau (2021) - Data USA. Hallandale, Florida. Retrieved from: https://datausa.io/profile/geo/hallandale-beach-fl/#economy - City-Data, Hallandale, Florida. Retrieved from: https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Hallandale-Beach-Florida.html - Adverse Childhood Experiences (2021) Centers for Disease Control. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index.html

Project Goal

To reduce the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on children attending the Austin Hepburn Community Center through expressive art.

Project Objective 1

To increase the awareness of ACEs amongst the families and children who attend the Austin Hepburn Community Center, by way of quarterly educational sessions, held over the course of a year.

Project Objective 2

To increase the self-esteem of the participants (as measured by the Modified Rosenberg Scale) and in turn build resilience through bi-monthly art sessions, over the course of the 2023-2024 academic year.

Project Objective 3

To pilot an annual art show for the children completing the year-long art program at the Austin Hepburn Community Center.

AAP District

District X

Institutional Name

Austin Hepburn Community Center

Contact 1

Gail Budhu

Contact 2

Kristen Facey