The Red Pencil Humanitarian Mission: Transforming lives through creative arts th

1. TheRedPencilHumanitarianMission: Transforminglivesthroughcreativearts therapy TheRedPencilHumanitarianMissionisaninternationalhumanitarianorganizationfoundedinSingaporethatbringsthehealing powerofcreativeartstherapy(drawing,music,movement,anddance) to children,adults,familiesandcommunitieswhohavebeenthrough overwhelmingandtraumaticlifecircumstancessuchasnaturaldisaster, displacementasaresultofwarsandconflicts,humantrafficking,life- threateningdisease,violence,andabuse,forwhichtheymayhaveno words. Psychologicaltraumamaybeinvisibleandiftheindividual’swell-being isnotbeingaddressedrapidly,the personmaycarrytheconsequencesof suchadevastatingeventfortherestofhis/herlife.TheRedPencil’s purposeistoattendtoallthosesituationswhichareneglected,inanovel,yetevidence-basedwaythroughthepowerofcreativearts therapytoensureindividualhealingandharmoniouspeaceinour communities. Theprocessofcreativeartstherapyallowsourbeneficiariestoexpress the unspeakable,experiencereleaseandrelief,findnewresourcesinside andoutside,gainself-confidenceandfeelempoweredtomoveon towardsamorehopefulandhappierlife.TheRedPencilisdedicatedto theresilienceandlong-termrecoveryofthemostvulnerablefromall walksoflife,toallowthemtogrowandbecomehealthyandhappy humanbeingsfortheworldoftomorrow. Sinceitsfoundingin2011,TheRedPencilhasempoweredmorethan 20,500beneficiariesandworkedwith269partnerorganizationsto achieveitsobjectivesandmissionofenhancingmentalhealthand psychosocialwell-being.

2. Ourrecentinterventions AccordingtotheBelgianHealthCouncil,1in4peopleinBelgiumreporthavingmentalhealthproblemsandoneinthreepeopleislikelyto sufferfromamentalhealthdisorderintheirlifetime.Thesementalhealthproblemsgenerallydevelopearlyinlife,with75%of these appearingbeforetheageof24.Inadditiontobeingwidespread,mental healthproblemsalsohaveahugesocietalimpactandincreasetherisk of schooldrop-outandsocialisolationamongyoungpeople,whichmay havebeenoneofthedeterminingfactorsfortheexcessiveeffectof Covid-19measuresonyoungpeople'smentalhealth(BelgianHealth Council,2022). Creativeartstherapyisuniquelypositionedforyouthatriskbecauseit is anon-verbalapproachthatisappropriateforchildrenwhohavedifficultyexpressinginwordswhattheyfeelandneed.Itisutilizedto treatanxiety,whichisverycommonamongyoungpeople. Duringtheselasttwo years,TheRed Pencilteamhasworkedhardonthe"Responseto thepandemicproject:Psychosocialsupporttomitigate mentalhealthissuesin childrenandyouth– Arttherapyforchange”.We aregratefultotheSofinaCovidSolidarityFundandKingBaudouin Foundationfortheirgeneroussupportofthisproject. InWesternEurope,weconductedcreativeartstherapyprogramsin Belgium,France,Luxembourg,andSpain,mainlywithasylum seekers,unaccompaniedminors,youths,andcaregivers.Wefocusedon servingthemostvulnerablechildrenandyoungpeopleinthecontextof theCovidpandemicandorganizedarttherapygroup sessions.Wherever possible,wecontinuedtoworkwithpartnerorganizationsidentifiedin 2021,suchasschooldropoutpreventionservices,youthsector associations,schoolsservingchildrenfromdisadvantagedbackgrounds andassociationshelpingyoungpeopleatrisktointegrateintosociety. Inaddition,wealsocarriedoutinterventionswithsocialworkers, teachersandeducatorstohelpthemtakecareofthemselvesandequip

3. themwithartistictoolsthroughourArts-basedCapacityBuildingand Training(ACBT)program.Wehavealsoconductedadozenworkshops toraiseawarenessofarttherapyamonghealthprofessionals. Workingwith youngpeopleatriskremainsachallenge:gettingthem interested,motivated,involved,andengagedinthe creativeprocessis notalwayseasy.Werecruitcertifiedandexperiencedarttherapistsand takethetimetodiscusswiththepartnerorganizationstheirrolesand expectations,includinghowthesessionswillbefacilitatedamongthe youth.Throughouttheentireprogramweintegratemonitoringand evaluationtools,asassessingtheimpactofourworkisimportantforus toensuresustainabilityandtocontinuouslylearnandimprove. Somebenefitsofgrouparttherapyforyoungpeopleinclude:releasing bodytensions,expressingandregulatingemotions,improvingself- understandingandself-confidence,relativizingandchanging perspectives,learningnewcopingtechniques,listeningtoandlearning fromothers,andfindingone'splace.Thetestimonialsandstoriesof changeprovideconcreteexamplesofhowthearttherapysessions contributetochangingtheparticipants'lives. Meanwhile,participantsintheACBTreportedlearningnewtoolsthatgobeyondorallanguage,whichisessentialasitisoftendifficultfor youngpeopletoexpresstheirdifficultiesverbally.Theyrecognizedthat creativeartstherapyremovesthepressureofthe“outcome”byfocusing on theprocess,makingthepracticeaccessibletoallandfacilitating exploration. InIndia,wepartneredwith KaivalyaEducationFoundation(KEF)and PiramalFoundationforEducationLeadership(PFEL).Weimplemented atwo-phaseprojectforIndianteachersworkingintheregionofJammu andKashmir.TheprojectfirstconsistedofanonlineACBTprogramme togiveaninsightintoarts-basedactivitiesforSocialEmotionalLearningintheclassroom.Thetrainingwasfollowedbycoaching sessionsinsmallergroupsandaimedatdeepeningtheknowledgeand puttingintopracticetheacquiredart-basedtoolswiththechildren.In

4. betweensessions,supervisionmeetingswereheldwiththepartner organizationforcontinuousimprovementandtoconstantlyadaptthe programmetotheteachers’needs.Intotalwetrained10groupsofabout 15 teacherseach.Foreachgroupweselected1 headarttherapistand1 assistantarttherapist. Intheframeworkofthisproject,TheRedPencil,incollaborationwith thearttherapistswhotookpartintheprogramme,designedandedited thehandoutasatool tosupporttheteachersintheirfuture implementationofarts-basedactivitiesintheclassroom. MeanwhileinSingapore,wealso launchedonlineprogrammesto continueservingourbeneficiariesamidstrestrictionsinphysical interactions.Despitethechallenges,wemanagedtoprovide30 art therapyprogrammesto187serviceusers,totalingtoanoverallof130 arttherapyhoursin2021. WiththeeasingoftheCovidrestrictionsfromtheSingaporegovernment in2022,wewereabletoconductmorein-personprogrammesandfor largergroupsizes.Therewasalsoanuptickofrequestsforart therapy sessions.Additionally,wesuccessfullyorganizedanexhibitioninour newlyopenedCreativeArtsTherapyCentreinRedhill,whichfeatured artworksfromtheReBoundarttherapyprojectscompletedin2021.The exhibitionprovidedanopportunitytoshowcaseourserviceusers’ artworksandtheirtherapeuticjourneysduringthepandemic. Duetotheteam'sactiveoutreacheffortstothecommunity,weare delightedtohaveanincreasingnumberofarttherapysessionsconductedatourCentre.Thishelpedtofurtherestablishourpresencein theRedhilllocality,aswellasspreadawarenessofcreativeartstherapy asaneffectivementalhealthintervention. IfyouwouldliketoknowmoreaboutTheRedPencilanditswork,visit www.redpencil.org.Youcanalsohelpustransformlivesthrough creativeartstherapybydonatinghere:https://redpencil.org/donations/