PROCESS

A three-part strategy is proposed:

1. COLLABORATE: The CREATE Project facilitates collaborations between local Artists (visual artists, writers, musicians, performers, etc.) and Community Partners (organizations, businesses, medical professionals, agencies, government, law enforcement, educators, etc.). Artists and Community Partners  collaborate on a creative project (song, mural, educational brochure, sign, poem, performance, etc.) related to the CREATE Project theme of creating a community that is dedicated to being free of child abuse and child neglect, and becoming a place where children are free to grow to their highest potential. (See “Work with Us: Projects” tab for more information)

2. SHARE: The CREATE Project facilitates “sharing sessions” between tradition-bearers and child-care workers, with the purpose of strengthening and supporting the role of each in the community in promoting “best-practices” for child rearing. (See “Share: Tell Your Story” and “What we do: Programs” tabs for more information)

3. REACH: The CREATE Project facilitates both internal (local, community) and external (outside of the community) education, outreach, and marketing efforts. Personal contact and presentations, and electronic, digital, and print media are used to “spread the message.” (See “Projects”; “Share: Tell Your Story”; “What we do: Programs”; Spread the Message”; and “Help: Resources and Help: Research tabs for more information)

Key questions:

  • What exactly is “child-abuse” and “child-neglect”? 
  • How should a child “be” in their behavior and their emotional, physical, and social development?
  • Why should an individual or  community look at or care about “child-rearing”?
  • Despite the fact that humans have achieved such amazing feats as going to the moon, making cell phones and internet technology accessible globally,and mapping the human genome, why does something so seemingly basic as child-abuse and child-neglect persist?
  • How can the arts affect positive change for children and families? Specifically, what can I do to help?

Research has shown that the arts can contribute to individual and family healing,  community stability, and the development of creative solutions to address difficult social challenges. In light of this research, area visual, literary, performing, media and traditional artists are invited to pair with educators, childhood experts, agencies, businesses, health care providers and others to create art works and programs.

Mural making, story telling, music, dance, traditional arts, video documentaries, workshops, programs, community gardens, publications, festivals, play spaces, and other creative activity will focus on the  CREATE Project goal. Using the arts, we build awareness, provide education and catalyze community consensus towards creating a place that is free of child-abuse and child neglect.

How do we know change has occurred? 

We will know when everybody is talking about “it”

and everybody is working to educate themself on the issues and challenges,

and everybody wants to be part of creating a positive community change,

and everywhere you look, you will see evidence of a community

that values and loves its children.

 

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

  1. What causes child trauma, abuse, and neglect?

Child trauma, abuse and neglect involve psychological, social, cultural, economic, institutional, geographic, and historical dimensions.

 

Some specific things that contribute to child abuse and neglect are:

– Lack of understanding of child development and what child abuse and neglect are

– Lack of consensus in community about child-rearing practices.

– It’s a Taboo topic – people don’t talk about it.

– A Patchwork of services keeps programs and interventions isolated and not reaching everyone.

-There is a “Disconnect” – people have. People think it doesn’t have to do with them.

– There are differing beliefs and ideas around what is right and wrong- Historical, religious, law, education, institutions, cultural, social and family based patterns

– Families are impacted by different stressors: personal stressors (anger issues, depression, alcoholism, drug abuse), social (family dynamics, unemployment, poverty), work stressors (lack of time, energy, social supports)

 

  1. What is child trauma?

Trauma can be defined as an insult to the physical, mental, or emotional integrity of a person. Child trauma can result from accidents, poverty, racism, divorce, abuse, neglect, family dysfunction and other life affecting individual or events.

 

  1. What is abuse? What is neglect?

Emotional, Physical, Social, Cognitive – injury to or neglect towards a child.

 

  1. How prevalent is it?

Chautauqua County has the 8th highest rate of child abuse in the state of New York. That is over 2000 children affected annually.

 

People think they know what child abuse is – and think that is has little or nothing to do with them – but the truth is – that we are all affected by it.

 

  1. How are we all affected by it?

There are short-term effects and long term effects on the individual, the family, and society at large. Depression, anger, unemployment, family violence, crime, substance abuse, costs to the judicial system, poverty, low self esteem, the trans-generational transmission of trauma?

 

  1. What is the “transgenerational transmission of trauma”?

Abuse and neglect are really part of the larger topic of trauma. (What is trauma?) Trauma is an injury – an injury to the integrity of a person’s physical, cognitive, or emotional well being.

 

 

  1. How does trauma relate to the issue of child-abuse and neglect?)

In the “Encyclopedia of Trauma: An Interdisciplinary Guide” published in 2012 the editor, Charles R. Figley wrote this:

“ The transgenerational process is viewed through a social-work, family-systems perspective that suggests what happens in one generation will affect the next. Transgenerational trauma transmission suggests contagion, repeated and observable patterns within the family. These patterns of trauma-induced behaviors theoretically explain roles and values adopted by family members as well as sources of vulnerability and resilience.”

 

That means that what happened to a parent when they were a child affected them and how they parent their children, so children bear the cumulative effects of the generations before them

For instance, people who grew up during the stressors of Civil rights era, became young adults during the beginnings of the women’s movement. Their parents were children grew up from the 1920’s to the late 1940’s and dealt with the trauma of the Great Depression and two World Wars, as well as the great changes in society ranging from the Suffrage movement for women. Many parents of generation who grew up during this era, were immigrants from the Victorian era. Their parents were either immigrants themselves, or dealing with the trauma of oppression or war or famine or the political upheavals of their homeland and time, or even the trauma of the legacy of slavery.

So the stresses, anxieties, anger, fears, as well as some of the resilience and strength of all the generations that came before have affected current generations in some way, as well as their children, whether we like it or not, whether we are aware of it or not.

Parents who lived in fear for their lives and fled to America as immigrants had to deal with harsh realities and figuring out how to survive. Not a lot of energy left to tend to the emotional or even physical needs of their children. The kids grew up in harsh conditions, and may have wanted a better life for their own kids, but all they knew is what they learned from their parents and grandparents, or caretakers.

What were the specific circumstances of their life that impacted parents to parent the way they do?

We need to take into consideration the generations before us, their beliefs and stressors, and the traumas they endured.  A child today may have an impatient or disconnected parent, due to the conditions that have their roots in  traumas that their great-great-great grandparents lived through.

 

  1. How does this all relate to the CREATE Project?

The CREATE Project is a very carefully designed, gentle, non-threatening community intervention targeted to address specific social, familial, and individual challenges that are part of the child-abuse, neglect, and trauma problem in our community. It does this in a pro-active and positive way.

The trans-generational transmission of trauma, child-abuse, and neglect are family and cultural problems. Because of this, these problems require amily and culture-based solutions.

 

  1. How do the arts help achieve the CREATE Project mission?

The CREATE Project has three branches :

– Collaborate (Work with Us)

-Share (Share)

-Reach (Get the Word Out)

In the COLLABORATE (Work with Us) part – we match artists with community partners to create a new work of art to bring attention to the CREATE Project mission. The artists could be writers, musicians, dancers, graphic artists, visual artists, whatever. The community partners could be a church, school, organization, business, club, etc. Together, the artist and community partner collaborate to create the new work of art. It could be a mural, a dance, a song, a poem, a community program. This is the big, public, attention getting, educational part of the CREATE Project.

 

  1. You also work with traditional and folk artists, right?

That’s the SHARE Part of the program. The SHARE part is the heart of the CREATE Project. We identify local tradition bearers – people who are folk or traditional musicians, artists, storytellers, sharers of agricultural or food-ways or traditional practices. get them together with child-field workers, individuals who have some education or experience with children or family areas and ask each group to share their experience, perspectives, and practices. The group will go through an orientation and training together to integrate the sharing of traditional skills and practices with optimal child-rearing practices. We then provide opportunities for the tradition-bearers to share their practices with the larger community at gathering places, in workshops, and events.

 

  1. Why do you consider the Share part of the program as the heart of the CREATE Project?

Often times tradition-bearers intuitively practice what could be seen as best practices for child rearing. They are already known and respected in the family and/or community, and are invested in passing on their knowledge and skills. Because of this they know that they the people they want to share with will not respond to negative practices – threats, a stick, etc. They oftentimes (but not always) intuitively share their practices in more nurturing ways and are responsive to their audience, whether a child or adult.

Also, unlike outside agencies and institutions, they do not need to “cross the thresh-hold of the family home” because they are already there, embedded in the family and community. For this reason, the tradition-bearers are in the optimal position to transmit positive child-rearing practices in the community. It is part of the mission of the CREATE Project to empower local tradition-bearers and to help them understand and recognize their strengths, and the role they can play in creating a positive culture for children and families.

 

  1. What kinds of programs do you offer?

We work in cooperation with community Partners like Dunkirk Library, the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Chautauqua County and the Dunkirk Schools to present events and programs. such as the “Third Thursday” Program at the Library. At the Tradition Fest and a Quilting Traditions event at the Dunkirk High School, the combined attendance was close to 800 persons. Over 50 tradition-bearers shared their traditions and positive child-rearing practices. We also started a number of community programs open to the public, where parents, grandparents, community members and their kids can connect with each other and learn music, sewing, Tai Chi, and other traditional arts. We working with the Dunkirk City School to offered summer programs and during the school year, arts-based after-school programs. We also offer a variety of intergenerational community programs where adults and youth can enjoy traditional and contemporary arts and music.

 

  1. What is REACH (Get the Word Out)?

REACH (Get the Word Out) is simply the idea that we need to reach everyone. We hope to inspire everyone in the community to embrace the goal to become the world’s first community to become free of child abuse and neglect and become a place where children can grow to their highest potential. Because institutional resources are so scarce and just a patchwork of services exists, kids and families fall through the cracks. It is essential that everyone – (parents, kids, schools, churches, medical professionals, agencies, law enforcement and others) comes together to reach one common goal. That means a commitment to understanding the problems and working together towards solutions.

 

  1. What can I do?

Let us know that you are part of this movement! Add your name (or the name of your organization, church, business, or group) on our website.

Get the word out about the CREATE Project and our mission. Learn and share everything you can about children’s issues.  Take part in the programs we offer!

We greatly appreciate donations of any amount. Donations can be made to the CREATE Project, care of the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation (NCCF) in Dunkirk, NY. The CREATE Project is a 501-C3 not-for-profit organization and NCCF acts as our fiscal sponsor. The Boys and Girls Club of Northern Chautauqua County is our lead Community Partner. Though we work cooperatively with both these organizations, the CREATE Project is an independent entity and operates as such.

Thank you so much for your interest Become part of this initiative and movement. Join and “get the word out” today!