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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 22 , 2 01 8 | NEWS Art-ish program recognized for bringing art to youths living w ith m ental illness $63,800 Ontario Trillium Foundation grant made program possible Nikki W es ley /M e tro land M edia Project Co-ordinator Lindsay Rett and Art Therapist Brianna Kestle pose with some of the patient artwork during the celebration of 'Art-ish: a project by Oakville Galleries in collaboration with Halton Healthcare Mental Health Program'. Art-ish will offer much-needed access to visual art for youth living with mental illness through weekly art making and discussion activities. DAVID LEA dlea@ oakvillebeaver.com OAKVILLE - A grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation is bringing the healing power of art thera­ py to local youths living with mental illness. The Oakville Galleries program, Art-ish, which is being delivered in partner­ ship with Halton Health­ care, was recognized for its work during a ceremony at Oakville Trafalgar Memo­ rial Hospital (OTMH) on Feb. 1. The one-year pilot pro­ gram, which was estab­ lished in fall 2017 following a $63,800 seed grant from the Ontario Trillium Foun­ dation, sees Oakville Gal­ leries delivering weekly hands-on art programs to youth living with mental ill­ ness at the OTMH. "The impact has been great," said Crystal Smith, a child and youth councillor with Halton Healthcare. "We typically have the program run after our group therapy sessions, which can be heavy some­ times or emotional. We get really great feedback from the patients coming from that kind of setting to a set­ ting where they are free to just express themselves without worries. A lot of the time it brings their mood up significantly." Some of the artwork made during these sessions was displayed during the ceremony. The artwork included everything from drawings to Popsicle stick figures to comic strips and animation made using iPad Pros and Apple Pencils. "It is so cool to see how creative the kids are," said Brianna Kestle, an art ther­ apist with Oakville Galler­ ies. "I think they have such a natural resource of creativ­ ity." Oakville Galleries arts instructor and project co­ ordinator Lindsay Rett said the sessions provide the youths with a space where they do not have to be con­ cerned about making mis­ takes. "So whenever they make their art they try some­ thing new," she said. "It is a very encouraging environment." The response from those attending the program has also been positive. One 16-year-old patient, whose name has been with­ held, said Art-ish helped them forget everything that was bothering them. "I got to have fun and learned coping can work if you find the right things," they said. Oakville North-Burling- ton MP Pam Damoff said art allows for the expres­ sion of emotion and feelings that may be difficult for some to express further. She noted the creative process can foster healthy self-expression, coping skills and empower and strengthen one's sense of self. "Through the artistic process, young people can explore and work through challenges they are facing in their lives and move to­ ward healing," said Damoff. Mark Egbedeyi-Emman- uel, chair of Ontario Trilli­ um Foundation's Halton- Peel Grant Review Team, also spoke during the cere­ mony. He said when Trillium considers grants, it likes to put money toward an en­ deavour that will have a re­ al impact on the communi­ ty. Egbedeyi-Emmanuel noted Art-ish's work would create long-term benefits and represented a real in­ vestment in the future of the Oakville community and Ontario. Oakville Galleries edu­ cation officer Elizabeth Un­ derhill said for those living with mental illness, having regular access to art sup­ ports healthy self-expres­ sion, promotes social and adaptive problem solving skills, helps establish a pos­ itive self identify and fos­ ters self confidence and em­ powerment. "When we first spoke with Sharon Norris (Halton Healthcare vice president of human resources, plan­ ning and organizational de­ velopment) and the OTMH Art Council about develop­ ing an art program for Hal­ ton Healthcare, we wanted a program that would inte­ grate these benefits into pa­ tient care and we wanted to ensure that art had a role in the well-being of our com­ munity," said Underhill. "From that foundation, Art-ish was created . Each week what happens is a pro­ fessional art therapist and an art instructor from Oak­ ville Galleries come into the hospital and with the support of the clinical team here they deliver hands-on visual arts workshops for youth in two of Halton Healthcare's mental health programs. One is the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Service (CAPIS), the other is Recovery Through Education for Ad­ olescents and Children of Halton (REACH)." Underhill noted the name Art-ish comes from the children's book Ish, a story which looks at the stage where children be­ come self conscious of their artwork and begin to feel pressure to make some­ thing that looks perfect. "As many kids get older they receive the message that they shouldn't spend time on things they don't excel at and that creativity is reserved for those with talent. They begin to lose enjoyment in the creative process and in making something just for the fun of it," said Underhill. "Art-ish was designed as the antidote to that and to provide youth with oppor­ tunities to be creative, ex­ press their inner selves, re­ flect the world around them without fear or reprimand for making something that may have mistakes in it or doing something wrong. That just doesn't exist in Art-ish." • See ACCESS, page 39 Beat cash em ergencies with a Cash Advance. Available in-store, online, and wherever you're reading this ad. For details, visit us at: 2460 Neyagawa Blvd 905-257-1917 198 Speers Rd 905-338-6000 We can help. MONEY MART® is a registered service mark of National Money Mart Company. © 2015 National Money Mart Company. Alt rights reserved. Start planning your dream vacation with hand-picked travel deals and inspiration just for Canadians Visit travelaierts.ca mailto:dlea@oakvillebeaver.com NEWS Art-ish program recognized for bringing art to youths living with mental illness Beat cash emergencies with a Cash Advance. Available in-store, online, and wherever you're reading this ad. 2460 Neyagawa Blvd 905-257-1917 198 Speers Rd 905-338-6000 We can help. Visit travelaierts.ca