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Salvos IDEAS Crowd

ReCreate (Full Circle Art Therapy Support Group)

by Jeanette van Gaalen | Sep 26, 2019 | in Ideas In Market Trial
RDL
Incubator
In Market Trial
Open Ideas/S2 - Dec19-Jan20
In Trial

A peer support group designed to remove stigma, and provide education and support to parents who are beating addictions and have lost custody of their children.  This demographic faces challenges such as domestic violence, addictions, poverty and past trauma.  Indigenous persons are over-represented in this demographic.  Art therapy would be provided by a Certified Art Therapist and mental health worker, making it a space for healing past hurts and connecting people from like circumstance to enable healing with the love of Jesus.  A mental health worker specializing in Indigenous mental health will be made available on a consultative basis.  The Neighborhood Center will resource the group with information from other service providers to assist participants in their journeys towards regaining custody of their children.

What department are you from?

 

Coffs Harbour Salvos

Who is your target market?

 

Men & women in recovery from addictive substances, but who have lost custody of their children and are seeking to take appropriate steps to regain custody.  

Files
Parent-perspectives-OOHC-Final-Report-Feb-2017
Art-Therapy-2018-Full-Report
Brouchure for Art therapy 1
Idea image
edited on Nov 2, 2020 by Neri Morris
Jeanette van Gaalen

Attach files

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David Palmer Sep 27, 2019

Fantastic idea1. Definitely thumbs up from me

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Kristel Gipsy O'Brien Sep 27, 2019

This looks amazing. There certainly are many who suffer and could benefit from this kind of therapy while using the creative spirit that God has gifted to us all- great idea !!

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Jennifer Dunning Sep 27, 2019

I think this is a fantastic idea.

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Dee Green Sep 29, 2019

Great idea Awesome

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Sereta Uitenweerde Sep 30, 2019

Great project!

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Deborah Dowsett Sep 30, 2019

This is a great idea and innovative, our First Nation People respond well to sharing their stories through art and its a great way to open dialogue. Including the local Elders would be ideal as well.

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Tania Miller Oct 1, 2019

Hi Deborah,
Yeah totally, Art is able to break down language barriers so that the story can be told in a way that makes meaning to the person telling it.

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Lea Palmer Oct 1, 2019

Absolutely love this idea. So many in the Coffs Harbour Community who could begin the healing journey in a group such as this.

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Simon Fuller Oct 1, 2019

Instead of the usual art, maybe consider creating a 'light sculpture' (a sculpture that illuminates) that can be exhibited at Vivid (see Salvos@VIVID idea) and other light events

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Tania Miller Oct 1, 2019

Hi Simon, Art Therapy is unique in that it is about the process of being creative rather than a focus on the end product. Art is an unspoken language that can give personal meaning to the individual to be able to express what words cannot.

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Claire Clifton Oct 7, 2019

This is a fantastic idea Jeanette. From a Community Services (Corps-Based Social) perspective - it's great to hear about these local innovations that exist to support often stigmatized individuals and families in our communities! Well done - let's work to get this happening!

Users tagged:

Avatar for Jeanette van Gaalen Jeanette van Gaalen
Avatar for Tania Miller Tania Miller

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Tania Miller Oct 8, 2019

It is so good to see so many people are interested in the Full Circle project.I'm excited about the possibilities for not only Coffs Harbour but for the nation. Imagine what it is like as a child to be removed from your family. Heartbreaking, devastating and shameful. Now imagine how the parents would feel knowing that they weren't good enough to have their own children. Gut wrenching, hopeless and shameful and often it doesn't get any better when the children get removed, in fact it gets harder. Children don't stop loving their parents. Lets give these families some dignity and hope to work through their issues with colour, love and support.

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Nikki Riley Oct 8, 2019

Art is a great communication tool that is able to break through all kinds of barriers to people, culture and circumstance. I thoroughly support this idea!!!

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Elise Oct 9, 2019

Sounds like a wonderful idea. An awareness and engagement strategy outlining how the program will recruit participants might be helpful. Similar programs have been tried in the Illawarra and we struggled to get attendees.

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Tania Miller Oct 15, 2019

Hi Elise, I would be interested in hearing more about the group you had in the Illawarra area. I have run a similar group in Grafton NSW and had 18 participants, which was fantastic. Generally only 6 would attend at the same time. I started the group while completing my masters, i think the success was due to the fact that it was a peer support group where the parents could talk about what was happening for them with judgement or stigma. In this area there are limited resources and groups for parents to attend therefore the parents who want to seek restoration are keen to get support and show their solicitor/judge that they are actively seeing restoration.

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Elise Oct 15, 2019

Hi Tania, CatholicCare Wollongong tried to run an art therapy group last year, however, we were targeting parents in general rather than parents who have had their children removed. Perhaps the lack of a targeted marketing strategy was why we didn't get the numbers and targeting parents who have had their children removed who are motivated to get their children back might be more successful. I think that 'art therapy' can put some people off if they don't view themselves as 'creative'. However, if the promotional materials highlight that artistic skill is not a pre-requisite, then I'm sure this obstacle may be overcome.

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Stephanie Sims Oct 9, 2019

It's so great to see an idea that provides support to parents who too are suffering - so they can be better supports to their children. Art can heal and transform lives. I hope this project gets up.

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Neri Morris Feb 17, 2020

Status labels added: RDL, Open Ideas/S2 - Dec19-Jan20

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Neri Morris 3 months ago

Status labels added: Incubator, In Trial

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Neri Morris 3 months ago

Status label added: In Market (BAU)

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