BuildaBridge Community Programs

“Look at my box!” A young girl in BuildaBridge ’s Refugee Project enthusiastically placed her newly painted inside-out box directly in front of me on the table from where I was observing the class.  The project of the month was about recycling and repurposing. The children, with the help of the teachers, had carefully taken discarded boxes, turned them inside out, glued them back into a box shape, and and were intently painting something they imagined. “Oh, that is very interesting!” I encouraged.  “I looks just like a turtle.” She smiled and nodded with pride. “Does your turtle have a name?” I asked. “This is Talkie the Turtle.”  She picked it up and held it toward my face. “And what does the turtle do?” I asked. “He talks.” She answered. “And what does he say?” “Talkie stuff!” She replied and quickly carried Talkie the Turtle back to the group to continue her painting. Later in the evening I shared my conversation with Natalie Hoffman, Art Therapist and BuildaBridge Art...

A discussion surrounding the word “rebuild” emerged. Is it to build again with new materials or does it suggest rebuilding again from the pieces that have fallen? On a quiet Sunday afternoon five individuals gathered around a table from four different countries, representing three different languages (4 if you’re counting dialect), and spanning three different generations. Through our partnership with the Nationalities Service Center/Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience (NSC/PPR) collaborative, art therapists have facilitated groups for about nine months that explore the past, present, and future for individuals who are immigrants. The past few weeks have been devoted to constructing Japanese Shoji lanterns, with a culminating tea ceremony. Patience, focus, and creative problem solving were just a few virtues challenged by this 3 dimensional project that prompted a lively discussion about selfless rebuilding for the sake of younger generations. The question initially posed about the...

 Natalie Hoffmann & Bethany Stiltner show students the art experience  Artist on Call Liz Green assists students with their paint supplies Since October 2013, 21 Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience clients have attended BuildaBridge art groups.  BuildaBridge held focus groups in March 2014 with a new refugee population to determine if art-making experiences and groups are of interest to this population.  18 attended the groups and voiced their interest in attending BuildaBridge groups this summer. Out of the 10 total groups offered to Bhutanese children this year to date: 2 children have had perfect attendance 8 children attended at least 6 groups 3 new children joined this group last Fall During the Fall 2013 6-week term offered to Burmese children: 2 children had perfect attendance 12 children attended four or more groups The Spring term just re-started on April 10 and 6 new children joined this group!

Ms. Julia Crawford engaging in the welcome song with children during a recent group. The BuildaBridge Classroom model utilizes rituals, clear boundaries and structure to provide children a safe and creative space in which they can express themselves.   One of the rituals the Bhutanese children's group does at the beginning of each group is a Welcome Song.  This ritual is predictable, and is done the same way each group.  Children expect and rely on this ritual.  It makes them feel safe.  It gives them an opportunity to focus on a task and on the teamwork of singing together.  This provides children an opportunity to focus on something immediately upon entering the group, putting aside anything else that may have been distracting from outside of the classroom.   Check out the video of children singing this song.   "Hello, hello, so happy to see you; hello, hello, how do you do?; Hello, hello, my name is Danielle; Hello, hello and how about you?!" ...

Check out photos from our latest Bhutanese children's group this past Sunday.  Children started working on their cocoons out of paper mache...an extension of the lesson on Monarch butterflies, their transitions from a caterpillar to a butterfly and how we go through changes in life just like the butterflies. 

After politely asking if he could say just one more thing during a Client Advisory Council meeting this morning, A.K, a participant in our therapeutic art groups offered through our partnership with the Nationalities Service Center/Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience (NSC/PPR) collaborative, turned and reached back behind his chair. What came back up with his hand astounded us all. Smiling, Mr. A.K presented our Director of Community Programs, Jamaine Smith with the above beautiful, meaningful work of Art. Mr. A.K, the creator of the piece, stated that the piece was a gift from all of the refugees served by BuildaBridge and the NSC/PPR and acts as a “thank you” for the work we are doing with not only his family (who were seated with him), but the countless other refugee, immigrant, and asylum seeking families we are honored to serve. Living up to our name, Mr. A.K. stated BuildaBridge helped build a bridge between aspects of American culture and language, and that of his native cou...

Today is the day that you can start helping refugees process their ROOTS through art-making experiences towards ROUTES full of hope and resiliency .   Today marks the first day of BuildaBridge's Roots to Routes - a month long campaign to raise funding for the Refugee Project.  Since August 2011, BuildaBridge has served nearly 100 refugees through art therapy and therapeutic art-making groups as part of the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative (PRMHC).  In that time, we have helped individuals blossom in their creative expression, helped facilitate an increase in group cohesion within specific ethnic groups, and joined a new collaborative, the Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience, through which BuildaBridge served an additional 50 participants.  Originally funded by the Department of Behavioral Health and DisAbility Services, BuildaBridge and the PRMHC's member partners have secured additional funding to sustain the project until the end of Year 3 (June...