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Ka’enye Vidart patiently sketched out five jars and painted them with watercolors while she unpacked her emotions from the day.
The 13-year-old said she was frustrated and angry by interactions she had at school. As she talked, she wrote down feelings around her jars. Green with black dots for nervous. Red and black layers for sleepy.
Art therapist Devon Billions-Gomez talked to the kids about what triggered their feelings throughout the day and how they reacted. She gently coached them and challenged them to think of alternatives to negative reactions.
“I think I’m going to start being kind,” Ka’enye said as she put the final touches on her work.
Under the guidance of Billions-Gomez, Ka’enye and other kids gather weekly at Cheatham Place, a public housing property run by the city of Nashville. Tucked away from the noise and bustle of the neighborhood, the space is designed to invite creative expression to help the kids talk about emotional regulation, coping skills and issues in the community and world around them.
A safe space
A lifelong artist, Billions-Gomez sees art as a way to start a conversation, create a safe space and foster healing. She also said it provides a different pathway to therapy for those who may not have the resources or desire to seek it out otherwise. Her free program, known as THRIVE Studios, is an extension of local nonprofit Inspiritus.
“I think it’s magical because none of them have to come,” she said of the children who gather at Cheatham Place. The children have often experienced trauma, violence and other adversities in their lives. “When they choose to come despite the situation around them, that says a lot.”
The kids work with all mediums — sculpture, clay, paint, drawings and others. One time they learned how to make origami birds. They also helped create a large mural on a building in the neighborhood that reflected their feelings and experiences as tensions flared nationwide over police brutality and the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
Billions-Gomez, 39, recalled a story that has stayed with her over the years. A young boy who experienced severe trauma stopped talking altogether because of it. After a year of showing up to art therapy sessions, he drew a picture that Billions-Gomez asked him to explain. To her surprise, he started to talk.
Those breakthrough moments are what keep her going on the harder days. As a kid, she also faced her share of hardships. But she remembers an art teacher taught her the power of being the person who makes a difference in a child’s life.
“If I can be that person, I’m happy to do it,” she said.
A plan to expand
Since 2020, THRIVE Studios has conducted more than 750 art therapy sessions and sent around 1,500 art kits and 11,500 snacks and meals home with more than 200 at-risk youth. Billions-Gomez estimates anywhere between 250 and 400 children are part of her sessions each year.
The Tuesday sessions at Cheatham Place are one of three she hosts each week in the area. However, there are plans to expand that as Inspiritus builds a new center in the Buena Vista neighborhood.
The nonprofit serves families that have experienced disruptions ranging from becoming refugees to experiencing violence. One of the organization’s guiding values is helping families and individuals move from surviving to thriving, which inspired the name THRIVE Studios for the program Billions-Gomez leads.
The new building is still under construction, but there are tentative plans to start moving operations there this summer. Billions-Gomez is already dreaming about how many more people they can reach with a new, bigger space. They have plans to include a pantry, a gathering space and an art studio. She hopes to offer specialized classes for boys, girls and different age groups.
On Tuesday, the kids shared about what keeps them coming week after week.
One said it helps her get out of the house. Another said she loves learning new things. One said he especially enjoys when they get to put on art shows to display their work. Their art also adorns the walls of the community room — something the kids excitedly pointed out as they described their favorite projects.
They ended their session with a simple affirmation spoken in unison: “I am important.”
Learn more
Inspiritus is working to expand as it builds its new Live-Thrive-Give campus at the intersection of Rosa Parks Boulevard and Garfield Street. The campus will include affordable housing for vulnerable seniors, along with a variety of community services and a therapeutic art studio.
More information on Inspiritus, including ways to seek help, get involved, volunteer or give, can be found at weinspirit.org.
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