Habitat for Humanity San Fernando/Santa Clarita Valleys (SF/SCV), as part of their Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative and their Enrichment Services program has partnered with A Window Between Worlds (AWBW), to bring healing art workshops to the students at Bowman High School in Santa Clarita.
Over the last 7 weeks, over 500 Bowman High students have participated in more than 31 AWBW class sessions focusing on topics to help students express their emotions through art. Classes included: Stepping Stones, Examining Relationship Collage, My Relationship Boundaries Revealed for Teens, The Reasons Why we Smile, A Book About Me, Funeral of I Cant’s, and more.
These workshops taught by Pamela Braly and assisted by Teresa Simpson, Natalie Coleman and Susan Contreras, have received the Community Award from Bowman High School and are receiving excellent feedback from the student population, with several hoping to continue participating in workshops after the session ends at Bowman High. This program was brought to the school after Habitat learned that many Bowman High School students have loved ones currently serving or recently returning from U.S. Military deployment and several tours of duty. Others, have no immediate veteran family members, but have experienced a loss of a loved one or other traumatic experiences at such a young age.
Because Bowman High School is directly next door to the property where Habitat for Humanity SF/SCV will be building its 87-home enriched community for veterans and their families and due to the fact that many of the children are from or are very close to military families themselves, Habitat saw this as an important collaboration for their Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.
It is in Habitat for Humanity San Fernando/Santa Clarita Valleys’ Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative model to serve not only the families living in the Habitat “enriched” neighborhoods but to offer community members in the surrounding neighborhood with similar services, so that the area as a whole has a chance to benefit from great programs that can lead to a community full of self-sufficient individuals.
Our enriched community model provides no-cost social and educational services to the neighborhoods by connecting our families with other social service agencies that bring services right into the neighborhoods. These services, unique to our Habitat for Humanity affiliate, include: Financial Education, Health Information, Dental Hygiene, Teen Empowerment and Children’s Programs such as tutoring. Other programs like homeownership and repair and money management are also provided.
A Window Between Worlds, an “enrichment” partner of Habitat for Humanity SF/SCV provides healing art programs for adults and children recovering from abuse and traumatic experiences. Due to the high number of students who have lost a love one or have experienced stress due to a loved one being deployed. Habitat and AWBW wanted to reach out to these students with their programming.
An additional 120 students will be added to the program in their last session that will finish April 17th. In addition to the AWBW program Habitat for Humanity SF/SCV will be partnering with Bowman High School in the 2013-2014 school year to offer internships to the students, learning skills in construction, marketing, and social services.