Chill & Spill "Bridges" activity

As a student, Kelsey Field took Chill & Spill to Chile several years ago when she worked at a refuge for pregnant teens. In Guatemala, when a girl gets pregnant out of wedlock, they are put out in the streets. This refuge was created to take them in, care for them and teach them skills so they can make it on their own.

Now Kelsey is in Guatemala, working with approximately 500 students. She assigns “Chill & Spill” activities as as homework. As a result, some of her students have begun trusting and opening up to her.

Says Kelsey, “They are sharing their stories with me, and more importantly their dreams for the future. A lot of times here the students just don’t have hopes for the future, because the poverty where we are is overwhelming. I feel like, for the first time, because of the Chill & Spill book, they are thinking outside of just getting married, having kids and farming…”

In this blog post are some of the student’s artwork that Kelsey shared with us (NOTE: all of my translations are very rough…if anyone can translate better, please let me know!).

Another student's "Bridges" interpretation

The student’s artwork, right middle, was inspired by the “Bridges” activity. On the left side of the page, she writes, “It is difficult to start living spontaneously because there are problems to overcoming problems.” In the stream below the bridge, the student lists difficulties such as “the lack of financial resources, school work, hard sacrifices, and huge bad friendships and other bad people – negative things that I continue to explore.” On the right side of the page, near the victorious figure, she writes, “When I arrive at the finish line, I am strong, the most majestic and friendly. Here is where the happiness is the fruit of our efforts.”

Another piece she shared with us is also from the “Bridges” activity. On the bridge itself, the student writes, “We must strive to achieve what we want.” Under the bridge, in the turbulent water, she writes about things she is trying to overcome, such as Discrimination, Poverty, Work, Bad Habits, Problems. On the left side of the bridge (where she wants to get t0), the student repeats the thought that she must work hard to get to where she wants to be, but adds, “Nevertheless, there are things that happen, difficulties we must face,” and “to reach a goal is to achieve a great dream.” The last illustration depicts the students life goals, which include “tener buenos amigos” (To have good friends), “tener fé” (to have faith),  “No mas pobresa” (to not to be poor anymore), “no mas delincuencia” (to not be in trouble anymore)…

I am pleased to announce a partnership between Art with Heart, Casey Family Programs and Sound Mental Health (SMH)  to benefit foster care youth, ages 13-18 through the Chill & Spill program.

Sandra Lippincott, LMFT, manager of the Counseling Services in the Auburn office is excited about the partnership and wrote,

“Chill & Spill’s therapeutic goals of reducing symptoms of trauma, building resilience and coping skills, and promoting good-decision making techniques are right on target for these youth who have often experienced trauma leading up to their out-of-home placement. Reducing their symptoms of trauma will help them heal from the circumstances that led them to out-of-home placement…

“For teens, which may be reluctant to engage in typical ‘talk therapy,’ we see Chill & Spill being a more effective way to work with them therapeutically. We are particularly excited about the value of using this curriculum in a group setting [because] it fosters a sense of belonging and community and fosters skills of interaction and communication that come from being part of a group… And serving this population through groups will allow SMH to reach more youth, more quickly.”

Casey Family Programs is underwriting this collaboration in order to help address the gap between the ever-growing number of foster care youth and age-appropriate mental health services and available practitioners.

Once the training is complete, SMS staff will offer the “Chill & Spill” program in 8-week sessions on an ongoing basis, up to 6 times a year, helping up to 60 youth per year through the Auburn office.

Kelly Huggins, L.C.S.W., Hospice Social Worker & Bereavement Coordinator at Heartland Hospice in Illinois wrote today to say, “I just want to say thank you for the wonderful work you do, seriously fabulous.  It warms my heart.”

Thank you Kelly! It warms our hearts to know the difference we are making! Thanks for writing!

Last year, Art with Heart was blessed by Barbara Brown, who is a professional in the film industry (former script supervisor for Northern Exposure). She told her colleagues about Art with Heart and asked them to donate their time while she directed the shoot for our 2008 fundraising video.

Over a four month period, she and her crew followed us as we talked to youth who had gone through our programs, families who had been affected by our work, as well as professional mental health care workers who saw the value in our work.

She called today to let us know that the video won a Silver Telly Award in the fundraising video category – the highest award they grant. The Telly Awards receives over 13,000 entries annually from all over the world and annually showcases the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, etc.

Special thanks also to the volunteer team who made it all possible: her husband Neil, along with Guido Ronge, Mark Anderson, Angie Bernardoni, Christina Ratcliff, Steve Colgrove, Bob Marts, David Wulzen, Vincent Gates, Mary Anne Dorward, and the folks at Clatter & Din.

Pictured above: Barbara (Babs) Brown, Maria Strauss and father Doug Strauss.

On Saturday, Jeff and Linda Baker, hosted a very touching and wonderful party in honor of Bruce Tyler, our past (and first) Board President. Bruce passed away last year from complications from his diabetes, something he struggled with since he was 12 years old. His struggle gave way to a deep compassion for hospitalized children, and he worked tirelessly on their behalf through Art with Heart’s outreach tools and programs.

Our hostess, Linda, is a new board member and is dedicated to not only helping us with our marketing efforts, but also with raising funds for the Bruce Tyler Youth Fund, a fund which will support our ongoing work to help children struggling with health issues. Her annual goal is $10,000 to support this important work and to honor Bruce’s legacy. We have $6,300 to go!

Wow!

Chill & Spill has made it to New Zealand! Check out this catalog (or “catalogue”) from Skylight, a national not-for-profit charitable trust that supports resources for children who have been affected by change, trauma, loss and grief.

They found us through an online search and are now our distributor for caregivers and other mental health professionals in New Zealand.

This means we are helping children who are 7,230 miles away! Amazing…

We received this feedback in the mail today from a boy in Burlington, Washington, who received our Magnificent Marvelous Me! book from a therapist at Catholic Community Services (click on it to enlarge).

The book supports their work with children who are dealing with difficult family issues. The smiley face reflects how he felt after he finished the book!

Art with Heart had a presence at this year’s 3-day, national Child Life Conference for the 4th year in a row.

Child life specialists work with hospitalized children to help them cope emotionally through play, education, and self-expression activities. Art with Heart’s books are a perfect fit for their work, complimenting their mission and giving them the tools to help even the most reluctant child.

While there, we met the founder of the Alicia Rose Victorious Foundation, an organization in New Jersey that helps bring hope, excitement, and entertainment to teens that are facing difficult medical conditions. She was so impressed with our Chill & Spill therapeutic journal, that she purchased 500 to put in their “Teen Kits” that they give to newly-admitted and diagnosed teenagers with life-threatening illnesses. The kits contain “comfort items” to help meet teen’s unique needs during their in-patient stay at a hospital and make them feel less isolated. We are thrilled to know that 500 teens are going to benefit from this amazing collaboration!

I just returned from Boston where the national Child Life Conference was held. Child Life Specialists often use our therapeutic tools because they support their mission, which is to promote psychological well-being of children undergoing stressful medical situations by using play, recreation, education, and self-expression activities.

While there as a “vendor,” we met folks from the Alicia Rose “Victorious” Foundation, whose mission is to provide activities, programs, and events that enhance the quality of the lives of adolescents with life-threatening illnesses.

They reveiwed the Chill & Spill book while there, and then brought a copy back with them for their teen advisory board to reveiw as well. The decision was unanimous to include the therapeutic journal in their “Teen Kits” in order to welcome and comfort newly diagnosed teen cancer patients. We are thrilled that 500 hospitalized young adults will now benefit from this resource!

The gallery opening for the teen Chill & Spill artists was so very gratifying. Local restaurant, Tutta Bella, hosted a pizza party before the event for the youth and their families. Then we walked to Columbia City Gallery, where the teens were amazed to find that their artwork had the best spot in the house!

The self-portraits were created in Art with Heart’s Chill & Spill class by students at Seattle Urban Academy (an alternative school for those who had failed out of the public school system). It was wonderful to see how extremely proud they were of their accomplishments. Terrone (top right) and Charles (bottom right) both were interviewed by a local cable TV show about their artwork. Both students enjoyed the limelight.

Art with Heart has been invited back to continue the Chill & Spill class during the Spring quarter and we are very grateful to the Kismet Foundation for making this possible. The artwork is up through May 24th, so please stop by if you are in the neighborhood.

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