OHIO — Using arts to offer trauma informed care means students don’t need to come to places like Playhouse Square in Cleveland to get their arts fix.
Instead, a program MetroHealth’s Dr. Lisa Ramirez spearheaded makes artistic expression the chance for a different type of learning.
When not in algebra or English class, the students are free to express, otherwise known as the SAFE project, which is where Cleveland-area students can build trauma resilience by spending time with artists like Bill Wade.
Wade founded Cleveland’s inlet dance theater. Spectrum News caught up with Bill leading 11th graders at John Adams High School in a lesson about identity choices. Wade wants the students to know the path they choose sets up their future success.
“We’re going to give them some exercises that gets them to think about themselves in relationship to the spaces they’re in through some movement exercises as metaphors, so that they kind of think about things from a completely different vantage point," Bill said.
For Bill, the act of creating art represents learning. SAFE offers students the benefit of arts immersion during their school day. The goal is to build hope.
Bill’s approach resonates with another Ohio artist focused on trauma. Her name is Kathy Wade, who was also featured in Spectrum News' fall series on building ACEs resilience.
Kathy's Cincinnati organization Learning Through Art has a lot in common with Bill’s work in Cleveland. In the end it all comes down to
community.
“When you’re building community through art, that means that everything in that community affects you," Kathy said.
All this may look like a fun respite from chemistry, but being physical is critical for students to move into their life choices differently. According to Bill, “there’s something about the immediacy of learning physically that is different than pondering something sitting at a desk with a pencil in your hand.”
Speaking of movement, Kathy said parents and kids can get into the act. They can build trauma resilience by putting down the cellphone and immersing in art together.
“Art is our most common bond because art makes us human, and because art makes us human that makes it an automatic common bond between all people," Kathy said.
Forging this common bond through physical learning may unlock untold potential in today’s youth. The hope is with art, the young can build the resilient communities of tomorrow. Here’s Bill’s parting advice to the students:
“So think about these things as they relate to your identity, and where do you want to put yourself in your future moving forward? How fast do you need to go to get there? What level are you shooting at? Have a good day."