July 20, 2018 | By Peggy Kolodny, MA, ATR-BC, LCPAT, MATA Board Member
Ever since the “zero tolerance” policy was announced in May, the Maryland Art Therapy Association (MATA) has been in contact with the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) to mobilize the art therapy community in any way we can to help these children. Children separated at the border and the other unaccompanied minors in this country need our help. While information about the children and access to offer services has been limited, immigration attorneys across the country have been working very hard to represent and advocate for these children to be reunited with their caregivers and given access to trauma-informed services.
See “The AATA’s Statement on the Traumatic Impact of Separating Children from Parents and Caregivers.”
How Can Art Therapists Help?
As the government is allowing attorneys and child advocates to interview children who have been separated from their parents and other unaccompanied minors, Professor Warren Binford at Willamette University College of Law in Oregon is spearheading a volunteer initiative gathering legal advocates, trauma specialists, and medical experts to provide professional assessment and treatment to children at the border and in detention facilities across the country. All volunteers will be directed by Professor Binford and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL) in California.
Find the volunteer form here. While the group already has over 7000 mental health volunteers, bilingual, trauma-informed, child therapists may still be needed and would take priority. Art therapists can provide valuable services through our use of nonverbal interventions. Once the form is completed, your information will be maintained for this effort, so please don’t get discouraged if you are not initially contacted.
Another way to assist in these efforts is to donate to the cause:
- The Children’s Justice Fund is gathering donations to help support volunteers to conduct professional interviews and offer assessments. Please note, that while the donation page focuses on interviews that were conducted on July 12 and 13, funds raised will go to support volunteers for similar interviews year-round in facilities across the country.
- RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services) is still collecting donations and has already raised over $20 million in funds.
- The AATA Trauma Recovery Fund supports volunteer art therapy programs organized in response to traumatic events in the community.
How to Mobilize your Community
I am a founding member in a newly formed Maryland coalition called HIJOS (Help Immigration Justice On Separated children) consisting of immigration attorneys, mental health therapists, psychologists, pediatricians, translators, nutritionists, community organizers and other relevant agencies offering services to migrant children and families sent to Maryland. We are working hard on making the appropriate connections needed to provide our services to these children. I am the co-facilitator of the therapist’s affinity group and also serve as a liaison to MATA. Our group is in need of volunteer therapists, and we give priority to bilingual trauma-focused child therapists.
To art therapists interested in contributing to efforts in their own communities, I suggest reaching out to immigration attorneys and immigration agencies in your home states to offer your assistance and explore the possibility of forming an alliance similar to HIJOS. If you are involved in efforts in your state, let the AATA know by emailing the National Office (info@arttherapy.org).
AATA Opportunities for Funding and Art Supply Donations
As information becomes more readily available and chapters are able to organize services for these children, please explore two opportunities the AATA offers to support outreach to communities effected by trauma. Both applications can be found in the MyAATA section of the website.
- Chapters may apply for funding through the Emergency Trauma Recovery-Art Therapy Program Fund.
- Chapters, as non-profit organizations, may apply for art material donations courtesy of Colart to support their efforts for charitable purposes.