Programs
Creative Aging & Tecnology
Creative Aging & Tecnology
Creative Aging & Tecnology
Our Creative Aging and Technology program is an innovative initiative that brings seniors and youth together for a mutually beneficial experience. This transformative program creates a win-win scenario, offering numerous benefits to both seniors and youth participants.
Through this program, young individuals serve as tech mentors to seniors, helping them develop critical social and emotional skills. By guiding seniors in navigating the digital world, young participants cultivate valuable qualities such as patience and empathy, which are essential in their personal and professional lives.
For seniors, this program provides a gateway to essential digital skills. It empowers them to connect with loved ones, access information, and engage with the modern world more effectively. In addition, it serves as a powerful tool against social isolation, fostering meaningful interactions with younger generations. These interactions spark a sense of connection and renewed purpose in the lives of seniors, enhancing their overall quality of life.
The benefits of this program extend beyond seniors. Youth participants also have the opportunity to earn service learning hours, recognizing their dedication to bridging generational gaps and fostering connections. By actively contributing to their community, young individuals gain a valuable opportunity to make a positive impact and develop a sense of accomplishment.
Creative Aging and Technology is more than just a program; it's a catalyst for strengthening intergenerational bonds and enhancing the quality of life for both seniors and youth. By fostering connections and providing valuable learning experiences, this initiative promotes understanding, empathy, and a sense of purpose for all involved.
Visual Storytelling
Creative Aging & Tecnology
Creative Aging & Tecnology
Our Photovoice Community Impact Project places cameras directly in the hands of communities and invites them to document aspects of their lives centered around specific issues or themes. The photographs and videos they create are catalysts, shaping the narratives they wish to convey about their lives and communities. These visual stories not only raise awareness about these communities' unique needs and strengths but also prove to be a powerful tool for engaging and amplifying the voices of those often marginalized or ignored. In essence, Photovoice is a proven method for making a real impact, empowering communities, and breaking stigma.
This approach has numerous benefits:
Awareness and Understanding: These visual stories raise awareness about communities' unique needs and strengths, fostering a deeper understanding of their experiences.
Amplifying Voices: The Photovoice method is a potent tool for engaging and amplifying the voices of individuals and communities often marginalized or ignored.
Empowerment: It empowers communities to have agency over their narratives, allowing them to tell their stories in their own words.
Collaborative Opportunities: Additionally, project opens doors for collaborative opportunities, encouraging partnerships and engagement with various stakeholders.
Facilitator Training: We also offer facilitator training to equip individuals with the skills to guide these projects effectively, promoting responsible and ethical visual storytelling.
Meditation & Movement
Creative Aging & Tecnology
Meditation & Movement
Our meditation and movement classes are intentionally crafted for individuals seeking somatic healing, offering many benefits. Dr. Sherwoood curates music to guide you on a self-directed journey of movement and inner reflection, enabling participants to explore and release whatever emotions or sensations arise during the dance. Drawing from the principles of Ecstatic Dance and mindfulness meditation, our classes foster a sense of well-being. Somatic movement can provide the following benefits:
Stress Reduction: Through mindful movement and meditation, these classes help alleviate stress, allowing you to relax and find inner peace.
Emotional Release: The dance journey offers a safe space to release and process emotions, promoting emotional well-being.
Physical Fitness: Engaging in movement contributes to physical health, enhancing strength and flexibility.
Mindfulness: Incorporating mindfulness meditation cultivates present-moment awareness, promoting mental clarity and focus.
Sense of Community: Classes connect you with a community of like-minded individuals, fostering a sense of belonging and support.
Self-Expression: Explore your creative and emotional expression, deepening your connection with yourself and others.
Our classes are open to all who seek to embark on a transformative journey of healing, both physically and mentally, through the harmonious blend of movement and mindfulness.
Benefits
Personal Empowerment
Critical Consciousness
Critical Consciousness
Creative community-based art initiatives create safe havens where individuals from diverse backgrounds discover comfort and forge connections. Within these creative outlets, people are empowered to share their unique stories and life experiences. This not only bolsters their resilience but also enriches their overall well-being. These spaces thrive as centers of support and empowerment, cultivating a profound sense of community and strength that helps individuals navigate adversity.
Critical Consciousness
Critical Consciousness
Critical Consciousness
Art has the incredible ability to elevate critical consciousness by shining a light on societal issues and uncovering unconscious biases. It serves as a powerful tool for introducing people to fresh ideas, narratives, and imagery. This plays a pivotal role in endeavors centered on social justice, as it unveils power dynamics and fosters alliances between different groups. Through art, we explore new perspectives on the world, inviting us to view it through the eyes and experiences of others. In this way, art serves as a bridge to greater empathy and understanding.
Creative Expression
Creative Expression
Creative Expression
Individuals on the path to recovery from addiction and trauma discover immense value in creative outlets for expressing and processing their emotions. Research has demonstrated that art is highly effective in aiding relapse prevention. Traumatic experiences often plunge us into a state of flight or freeze, and artistic expression and creative movement have shown remarkable benefits in alleviating symptoms of PTSD. Creative expression has a soothing effect on the mind, nurturing positive emotions and boosting self-esteem. Additionally, art plays a vital role in reducing stress, anxiety, and other emotional triggers, offering a healing journey towards recovery and well-being.
Visibility & Voice
Creative Expression
Creative Expression
Art possesses the remarkable ability to magnify the voices of underrepresented communities, resonating deeply with the hearts and minds of a broader society. It serves as a potent tool for rendering visible and authentically portraying the individual and collective experiences, effectively deconstructing prevailing narratives. This transformation occurs by providing opportunities for underrepresented communities to craft their unique counter-narratives that truthfully reflect their lives and experiences. Art is the catalyst for empowerment and reclamation of one's own story.