The Impoverished Artist: Connecting with Homeless Teens Through Art Education Presented by Candace Socha

PURPOSE Beneficial impact of art on homeless teenagers Provide an overview of Art Education The role of a facilitator in the homeless environment Techniques and technical demonstration methods used to teach art

Statistics The Girl’s Night Inn Program averages a dozen teen girls from The Samaritan per week The Samaritan Inn houses on average 2 dozens teens (The Samaritan Inn, 2016) 7.6% of adolescents 12-17 years of age had spent at least one night in an emergency shelter, public place, abandoned building, or with a stranger during the previous year. (Ringwalt, Greene, Robertson, & and McPheeters, 1998) 39%of the 3.5 million Americans who are homeless are children (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2007) and currently, a third of families looking for shelter each night are turned away nationwide (United States Council of Mayors, 2009). Many catalysts for homelessness

Life in a homeless shelter Adhere to many rules in order to maintain their place at the shelter Families share one room and bath (sometime communal) Parents must follow strict mandates regarding drugs & alcohol, employment or seeking employment, making children follow the rules, and staying away from the shelter during school hours Coping with stress and behavior Majority of Programs for children are only for academic support or counseling

benefits Resilience Theory Creativity Positive Relationships Humor Independence Positive view of personal future Flexibility Joy of learning Self motivation Self Worth Perseverance The belief in the ability of every person to overcome adversity if important protect factors are present in their life such as nurturing, caring environment; high expectations and purposeful support; ongoing opportunities for meaningful participation

Art education in an informal setting Safe and nurturing environment Creation of art as a vehicle for understanding Encourage expression Visual literacy Explore great works of art Engage in discussion

Role of facilitator What is a Facilitator? What is expected of me? How do I know what to say or do? How do I maintain control of the kids? Volunteers are always needed and welcome Facilitation is about the process of helping people to explore, learn, and change; Help the group to understand their common objectives and assist them to plan how to achieve the objectives

Techniques Ask open ended questions (ex: Why do you think that?) Ask them how the art makes them feel. There are no wrong answers. Be positive in your responses! Gauge the students responses to determine how much facilitating you need to do Let the students make their own works of art or help each other. You are there if they ask for help. Relax and enjoy the experience of making art

references Bosworth, K., & Walz, G.R. (2005). Promoting student resiliency. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association Foundation. Heisse, D., Macgillivray, L., (2011). Implementing an art program for children in a homeless shelter. Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ960335 National Aliiance to End Homeiessness. (2007). Fact sheet. Retrieved from http//naeh org/content/article/ detail/1525. Ringwalt, C., Greene, J., Robertson, M., & McPheeters, M. (1996). The prevalence of homelessness among adolescents in the United States. Am J Public Health. Robertson, M. (1996).Homeless Youth on Their Own. Alcohol Research Group. Berkeley, CA United States Councii of Mayors. (2009). Hunger and homelessness survey: A status report on hunger and homelessness in America's cities, a 27-city survey. Retrieved from http://usmayors.org/pressreleases/upioads/

Contact me The Samaritan Inn of Collin County 1725 N. McDonald St. McKinney, TX 75071 Candace Socha (214)315-3585 CSocha01@gmail.com

Thank you for attending! Please fill out the evaluation forms before leaving and don’t forget to get your Certificate at the door!