Art and Poetry Therapy

Helping our kids express what they have held inside most of their lives is a challenge and giving them the tools to explore their emotions is a key to opening up the deep healing processes that will take these young people on to their future challenges, trials and struggles well equipped to face life and succeed.

Using the creative processes of poetry, mixed-media art projects and performance art, in conjunction with guided counseling and group interaction our young people are encouraged to find their inner-most feelings and to express them in colorful and creative ways. Hands-on creativity encourages these courageous young people to come to grips with their own roadblocks, self-limitations and stumbling-blocks, while at the same time giving them fresh insights into the experiences, attitudes and history that have brought them into the system

Coming to grips with the deepest and sometimes toughest emotions and putting these expressions out for all to see are some of the most cathartic and emotionally real experiences some of these young folks have ever experienced in the therapeutic setting and are skills and tools that translate well into their recovery systems once they have completed their stay with us. Utilizing a full spectrum of expressive vehicles taps into a broad range of different emotional, mental and even physiological arenas, deepening the overall impact of the work these young people are accomplishing.

The Art and Poetry workshops are ongoing and encourage both individual as well as collaborative efforts on the part of the participants. We have a permanent installation and Gallery for the artwork at our Family Counseling Center called RESTORATION where the offerings of our "resident" artists and poets are on display and here we've shared some of the writing and art work of our bold young sojourners.


Hurt T.B. This pain is cuttin’ me Cuttin’ me real deep This mountain that I ‘m climbin’ Seems to be real steep My body’s bleedin’ And my hands are cut up They think they know me But they can shut up My hearts hurtin’ But does anybody see The fears comin’ out I just want to be free Ya Hear I can’t count all the tears Comin’ out in the past three years People lookin’ at me People gettin’ mad What did I do To get treated so bad I was mad People made me sad They be lookin’ at me Like I was glad But I wasn’t It’s hurtin’ me so bad But it doesn’t cut it Where do I begin I don’t want to start All over again These pains are pourin’ On me like rain I’m sick of this game I try to be happy But what do I gain
	Please Look A Little Deeper in Me. A.J. Please don't judge me by the color of my face Or by my religion or by my race Please don't laugh at my clothes that I wear Or by the way I do my hair Please look a little deeper in me Because way down inside I am hurt Behind my action, a secret lies Behind my emotions I will softly cry myself to sleep Please look a little deeper in me And maybe you will see how I am feeling The lonely little boy That lives in a terrible house in agony Please listen and you may see How this little young man is feeling He will show his insecurity Please try to be a friend to him And he will show how friendly he is Please give him a chance And maybe he will accept the challenge If you look deep enough in him You will find a real man
Fear of the Unknown B. A. Lost and out of place Exhausted to the bone How can I go on I want to go home I try to walk away A chain of pain holds me back Try to find myself Like a needle in a hay stack Where do I go from here I hope the end is near How do I continue To carry on, it’s been too long So much sh*t in the way The view is so unclear Don’t like the reflection I see in the mirror Want to be the best I’m best at being worse Don’t touch the bubble ‘Cause it’s about to burst Where do I go from here I hope the end is near How do I continue To carry on	She’s Gone-He’s There D.E. She was my mother, but she never stood beside And when I fall down, she’s supposed to be there to guide me And how I’ve lost all hope, and my glass has shattered I’ve worked for nothin’ and life doesn’t even matter I blow off everyone, and bottle up my anger Yet you still expect me to open up to all these strangers It feels like a razor Straight sawing through my bone I can’t do it on my own And can’t survive all alone I’m not that strong, I need another shoulder I’m not an army of one, I need another soldier That’s stuck through all the pain, that they’ve had in life Someone that’s bold enough to believe in Jesus Christ Because He’s always there and with our mouths we confess That He laid his life down to deprive us of our stress All we have to do is tell Him we believe and accept So that we can give our lives a positive effect He died for the people he knew would keep on sinnin’ And forgave all of us for the problems that we’ve been in He died and rose again three days later He is Jesus Christ, He is my Savior

Please come back and visit us here often as we'll be updating the offerings of our artists on a regular basis.

We thank our corporate sponsors for their support of this important project and for making the hope, healing and place to grow possible for the kids in our care.

Hurt

Please Look A Little Deeper in Me.

Fear of the Unknown

She’s Gone-He’s There