ART AS THERAPY
Addressing mental health through the healing power of the arts: How the Riverside Arts Council brings hope, comfort and confidence to those in need.
“The arts have an extraordinary ability to enhance our lives, to help us heal and to bring us comfort in times of great stress,” said NEA chairman Dana Gioia. “We must reconnect the arts with the actual human existence that Americans lead, the journeys we take in life which lead us through hospitals, to hospices, to the end of life."
Art For Memory Care
Art For Youth In Foster Care
Art For Youth In Foster Care
Faced with declining skills and increased isolation, maintaining connections to the world becomes increasingly important to the elderly. The arts can provide opportunities for improved self-awareness and communication. Issues such as loss, illness, depression and restoration of hope are addressed through therapy in the arts. According to a National Endowment for the Arts concept paper, NEA studies show that incorporating the arts into health care benefits both patients and caregivers. Art-related activities in nursing facilities, hospitals and hospices can help patients relax, socialize, find solace or express grief, loss and other emotions, as well as help rejuvenate caregivers experiencing depression, fatigue and burnout.
Art For Youth In Foster Care
Art For Youth In Foster Care
Art For Youth In Foster Care
The Riverside Arts Council has partnered with Riverside University Health Systems Foundation and the Department of Public and Social Services to create an Art as Therapy program for youth in foster care. The program includes regular arts programming at the Welcome Center in Banning that houses 12 children. RAC is expanding the program to provide this service to youth in foster care that have been placed in homes throughout Riverside County. Children at any age benefit from exposure to the arts, and in most cases, parents are able to provide their children with arts in some capacity, whether it be books, art supplies to create artworks or even television and radio. Youth in foster care are not always offered the same opportunities.
The Birthday Circle
Art For Youth In Foster Care
The Birthday Circle
The Riverside Arts Council partnership with the Riverside University Health System includes participation in the Birthday Circle. Riverside County is home to over 5,000 kids in care, and some foster youth rarely, and others never, receive a birthday card or note on their birthday – until now! The Riverside Arts Council is working with local artists in the community to provide original artwork for birthdays cards for the Birthday Circle. Each month, approximately 40 children in care receive an original card to help make their day special. The Riverside Arts Council partnership with the Riverside University Health System includes participation in the Birthday Circle. Riverside County is home to over 5,000 kids in care, and some foster youth rarely, and others never, receive a birthday card or note on their birthday – until now! The Riverside Arts Council is working with local artists in the community to provide original artwork for birthdays cards for the Birthday Circle. Each month, approximately 40 children in care receive an original card to help make their day special.