LOUISVILLE, Ky. – UofL Health – UofL Hospital and the J. David Richardson Trauma Center celebrated a six-month partnership with community organizations to connect trauma injury prevention and art therapy with the community.
In partnership with Friends of Nicole 50/50 Mentoring Collaborative, UofL Health’s Motivated Individuals Navigating Trauma (MINT) program brought a series of programmatic engagements to several neighborhoods affected by gun violence, connecting community members with art therapy and relationship building.
Throughout the initiative, those affected by trauma could participate in monthly art healing workshops, including art therapy, group dance, mentorship and entrepreneurship topics. It was designed to be both therapeutic and engaging, while also striving to foster healing and processing of personal trauma, grief and mental health conditions in communities deeply impacted by gun violence. The program served 122 participants over six months. Monthly sessions partnered with a different community organization each month: Robert Jameson Ministries, Option for Success, MOMS (Mothers of Murdered Sons), Bosses not Bangers, PAVE (Parents Against Violent Engagement) and Green Space XR.
Participants from over the last six months gathered on June 18 to celebrate the program’s finish. Folks partook in an art therapy project that allowed them to decorate their own garden pot, write their feelings, goals and hopes for the community on a paper “seed,” and plant those aspirations for the future in soil to bring home. There was also a Zen circle of meditation outside the garden for attendees to reflect on progress and goals.
The project was funded by the Community Foundation of Louisville through their Community Safety and Healing Fund.
If you are a gun violence survivor and are interested in learning more about available supports, including the MINT program at UofL Health, please contact the Community Health Workers at 502-693-2749.
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