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Abuse survivors' artwork to adorn Juvenile Justice Center Therapists Shannon Modjeski, left, and Teresa Bullock, with Fancy, a therapy dog, hold panels made by their young clients at the Children's Advocacy Center. The art is being donated to the Juvenile Justice Center. [Mail Tribune / Denise Baratta] Monday Apr 3, 2017 at 3:45 PM Apr 3, 2017 at 3:45 PM By Tammy Asnicar for the Mail Tribune Given a blank canvas and an opportunity to play with color, more than a dozen victims of child abuse recently discovered that art therapy heals hearts and empowers survivors. Participants in a Building Bridges art therapy workshop at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County, the youth teamed up to create two dynamic acrylic paintings that depict both healing and hope in vibrant color. Jackson County Community Justice Director Eric Guyer donated three large canvas panels to the Advocacy Center, and the youth were encouraged to create artwork to hang in the Juvenile Justice Center. The finished paintings will be delivered to Guyer in a special presentation set for 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Juvenile Justice Building, 609 W. 10th St., Medford. (The third piece is in progress and will be delivered at a later date.) The Children’s Advocacy Center is a community organization that provides a home-like setting where victims of or witnesses to violent crimes can disclose the abuse to law enforcement and child protective workers in privacy and safety. To alleviate further trauma, victims receive services, therapy and support in one child-friendly location. The art project was “a beautiful way” for the youth to learn that the community cares, says Tammi Pitzen, executive director of CAC. Child abuse is “a community problem that requires a communitywide solution.” And by having the artwork on display at the Juvenile Justice Center, she says, the issue “is front and center.” “We are telling offenders to remember the victim behind the crime.” Guyer says that partnering with CAC is very important to his department. Victims’ circumstances “drive the work we do,” he says. “The strength, resiliency and perseverance of these kids … we carry with us daily.” The goal of the Building Bridges program is for youth to develop social skills, build self-esteem, and work with others who have had similar experiences in a safe and healthy environment. Art therapist Becky Hale worked with girls ages 6 to 15 during a two-day workshop funded by a grant from the WILL Foundation. In addition to “the communal projects,” Hale says, they also worked on individual pieces. When the girls were given inspiration and affirmation, Hale says she saw “healing blooming” as they collaborated and created. The younger children explored “happy colors and lines and shapes that express emotions and feelings. Their painting is an abstract. Puzzle pieces and handprints encircle a quote by Barack Obama: “The forces dividing us are not as strong as those that unite us.” The handprints, says Hale, are their signatures. The teens painted a tree, rainbow and flowers. “Word seeds” such as joy, peace, heroes and health were planted at the base of the tree, Hale says, “to represent the gifts offered” by CAC. “Kids often feel discounted,” says Catherine Zern, CAC’s director of therapy. “This was an opportunity for the kids to make an impression on the world. “It was great to see them excited. We don’t want these kids to be defined by the bad things that have happened.” — Reach Grants Pass freelance writer Tammy Asnicar at [email protected].