“Connect and Create”: Dealing With Difficult Life Circumstances

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Introduction

Art has long been recognised for its learning and therapeutic benefits because when people create visual images, they use their right brain hemisphere. Additionally, creativity contributes to healing individuals, revealing suppressed emotions, alleviating tension, fear, and anxiety, and fostering a notion of self-reliance. Involving people in arts is critical to encourage creativity and innovativeness through opportunities. In other words, such an endeavour facilitates the development of a young individual’s core qualities, which include self-confidence, assertiveness, connectedness, and critical thinking. “Connect and Create” can assist young people in developing the resilience necessary to deal with difficult life circumstances.

Project Summary: Funding a Heart Work Project

Our cohort sought to conduct a fundraising event to initialise the Project Tribe’s awareness campaign. Research indicates that loss of community connectedness is the everyday activity that leads to poor mental health. The goal was to create a community that understood mental health and its impact on daily living. The target market would be the people in the community; this event would be a great way to meet them and talk about our project “Tribe.” The project will be more engaging and effective in acquiring funds for new outreach community projects. An auction, entertainment, mental health discussions, and camaraderie will be part of the event.

An auction might be set up with over 35 items gathered from around the United States by reaching out to local business organisations. Social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, or Twitter also can be used for advertising the project.

In addition to the arts (art pieces, theatres, galleries, music venues), connection building (holiday packages, group activities) and confidence boosters will act as donors for the recipients’ mental health (jewellery, nice clothing). Since this was the launch event for Project Tribe, it was crucial to focus on mental health awareness. We will also be introducing a musical theatre for students from the Music Department to perform for us, in addition to the silent auction. The musical entertainment will feature upbeat, happy, and country music. We will be expecting over 50 college and community members to attend the Gala.

The project will influence the neighbourhood, and after Project Tribe, the cohort will invest in a non-profit organisation that would improve mental health in the community. The Heart Work Project is planned to achieve the three critical goals of raising donations for Project Tribe, wellness, and the efforts of Project Tribe. Moreover, it will positively impact the mental health of the community and start the conversation, building a “Tribe” of support around the project.

Furthermore, another strategy is to review previously sponsored initiatives and look for previous grant awards that included arts-related components. When we come across a funded project, we will also check for further information about the program that supported it. We are in a digital world, and, thus we might utilise the technology for our research. There are many federal funding opportunities listed online that we can contact. The following names of agencies are provided in the files (Federal Funding Resources for Research, para. 10). General information on mental health and treatment and relevant services for mental health issues are also included (Local Organizations with Mental Health Expertise, para. 10). These organisations can assist in organising a community event, locating speakers with mental health expertise, providing peer and family support

• National Endowment for the Humanities.
• National Institutes of Health.
• National Centre for Complementary & Integrative Health.
• National Institute of Mental Health.

Project Needs

Community Programs for Youth Development examine the challenges affecting young adults by concentrating on critical components of their well-being and development. The analysis of after-school activities can be an insightful source of information about the target group’s social skills and personal capabilities, which are critical for language and emotional development (Kite, 2021). In addition, it may emphasise one of the following personal and social skills: problem-solving, self-efficacy, responsible decision-making, conflict management, self-control, and self-esteem enhancement. The project characterises after-school programs that provide interventions to children aged 5 to 18, run over at least part of the school year, which makes both children and adolescents a primary interest for the analysis.

It is necessary to point out that mental health issues among young children and adolescents are critical issues. According to a wide range of studies, students are prone to develop a number of major mental health problems, such as non-suicidal self-harm, eating issues, substance abuse, suicidality, and depression (Pedrelli et al., 2015). The statistics demonstrate how critical mental health is to students’ academic achievement. Thus, understanding the association between the two may aid in developing different techniques that educational settings can use to support students with mental health concerns. In addition, the longitudinal study demonstrates that interventions geared at reinforcing students’ abilities positively affect their academic performance and work ethic.

Nonetheless, there is a gap between mental health research and the academic difference between different ethnic groups. Therefore, there is a possibility that the unfair treatment of the minority group of students will negatively affect pupils’ mental health and subsequent academic achievements. Indeed, mental health concerns harm student accomplishments because they contribute to school violence and poor attendance.

Outcomes and Impact: The Solutions and Recommendations

The outcomes of the program will be reviewed and evaluated to ensure the project’s effectiveness. Bonel and Lindon (1996, p. 78) state that “a program provides a planned range of safe, creative, positive opportunities that give children and young people ownership for many elements of it.” It is important to continue educating about mental health services on the target School campus and student peer-led support groups. We will also need some volunteers, as the Servant Scholars Program provided few tools and resources to assist. Hopefully, the Servant Scholars Program and the College’s Service Saturday will continue to work together to support the initiative.

Similarly, the project has increased student awareness of mental health resources available on our campus due to Project Tribe’s surveying of the student population. The education on the offered services should continue in the future. To encourage kids to seek out assistance, we believe that peer support is beneficial. Our cohort discovered that students feel more comfortable communicating about the subject when they engage in peer-to-peer discourse. This engagement can assist pupils in developing a sense of confidence when expressing issues they find difficult. In the future, it is vital that this type of framework will be incorporated into student programs.

Delivery Plan

The delivery plan will involve organisational activities, where the first event plays a major role. Therefore, the community and target audience will have to be informed about the project. Social media will be used to communicate the goals and objectives of the event. Next, the event will be set up to accommodate as many people as possible. Various key organisations, speakers, and support groups will be invited (Local Organizations with Mental Health Expertise, para. 10). The event will include an auction, entertainment, mental health discussions, and camaraderie. After the event, the collected sum will be split between Project Tribe and non-profit organisations.

Critical Analysis of the Project

The project analysis reveals that it will promote individual control and choice. The view of the minimalist state will be promoted by encouraging the target audience to be more self-reliant and self-sufficient when dealing with personal mental problems (Dickens, 2016). It will also teach how to be resourceful when it comes to utilising the currently available social aid programs, which means that some aspects of social democracy will also be promoted. It should be noted that the SWOT analysis of the project is accessible below in Table 1.

Table 1. SWOT.

Social Policy and the Links with a Child-Centred Approach – A-Class Handout

An ideology can be categorised as a set of beliefs and values that guide an activity. Political ideologies drive decisions about how social problems are addressed. These three main ideologies will now be explained and applied to working within children’s settings. Social democracy refers to a regime where the state plays an active role in society. Social Democrats are keen to ensure that welfare services are delivered with high quality. Thus, they seek to raise the quality of life for everyone. Problems are not seen as an individual’s fault – they are society’s failings for being unequal and lacking opportunity. The issues need attention through the redistribution of wealth (usually higher taxation).

This ideology believes that poorer children and families or specific communities of children and families (e.g., BAME – British Asian Minority Ethnic) have fewer opportunities and resources at their disposal than their counterparts have. The social-democratic approach would increase and expand welfare state support to ensure that the quality of life of children and families who are struggling is supported better.

Neo-liberalism is about reducing everything down to the individual level, as well as about the supremacy of the private market. Wealth will eventually reach the poor through low taxation, as Dickens refers to the “minimalist state” with roots in libertarianism from the 18th and 19th centuries (Dickens 2016). This approach emphasises the freedom of the individual and restricts the state so that it only intervenes in social and economic life to safeguard individuals. Green and Clarke (2016), for example, refer to Thatcher’s saying “there is no such thing as society,”; a thought which emerges from this philosophy. Neo-liberalism and libertarianism have been evident in governmental decisions for decades, regardless of the political party (Cunningham and Cunningham, 2017). Individuals decide how to spend their resources and which services they should use.

This approach focuses on individual choice and control where if people can choose where to go, private welfare plays a dominant role in social care. Costs and efficiency are top of the agenda. The choice is limited because a person’s needs leave little room for how the money is spent (Dickens, 2016). For example, a family living in poverty might choose which food bank they go to, but it does not take them out of poverty. The neo-liberal and minimalist state is where the state reduces its expenditure through an emphasis on “value for money and efficiency.” At the same time, it applies rhetoric of choice to people’s essential needs (as with the food bank example). Under neoliberalism, very little state money goes on addressing social problems.

Finally, the radical state approach radically critiques capitalism, claiming that the state should change its course. There is a need for being a significant overhaul in society, with power and resources being removed from the wealthy and distributed evenly; Marxism is at the root of this idea. Social problems are not the result of weakness or individual bad choices but are due to deep-seated structural societal inequalities – class, race, gender, age, and disability are the examples of people usually affected.

Different movements such as feminist’s and disabled people’s argue that people with disabilities have equal rights as everybody else and should not be relying on charity or state handouts to exist. The idea that, for example, disabled people should have resources to manage their own lives could be seen as a step towards the overhaul of society and as addressing the deep structural inequalities for disabled people. The feminist equivalent is always free childcare for women, as this was one of the first demands of the women’s liberation movement. If women have free child care, they can make other life choices without restrictions. Both of these movements want to transform the way society is structured. You could fit Thompson’s PCS model here – focusing on the institutional level.

Critical Analysis of Sustainability of the Project

For this project, the most effective way of financing was chosen by the donor. It consists in creating a special account, which is created by a public charity organization, where willing donor institutions can invest money. Moreover, the donor receives a tax deduction for making contributions to the fund. This method is advantageous because it increases the loyalty of other interested parties and can help attract even more investors and increase public confidence. This method, which relates to the gift economy, is a motivating factor for people and the whole public. In contrasts with market economy, where services are mainly openly exchanged for value, the essence of gift economy is the subject of a debate in anthropology.

The project’s sustainability will be determined by its performance because donations are a major part of its budget. Revenues are funded by parent fees, public money, private donations, and in-kind contributions. The financing pattern for programs with low-income and moderate-income children is similar to other non-categorical services providing typical developmental assistance. Large public service systems with other priorities tend to give minimal money to services like family assistance and early childhood care and education. Therefore, there is a potential for the project to become a social enterprise. After-school activities may get a small percentage of child care money, compensatory or remedial. Public funds are frequently mixed to ensure the best financial support for the project.

Conclusion

As a field, several outstanding issues must be addressed to continue improving after-school programs’ capacity to support academic success. As with the kids they serve, these problems cut across practitioners’, researchers’, and policymakers’ work and necessitate a broad, cross-disciplinary discussion of our priorities and practices. First, they must evaluate resource distribution: in a world of limited resources, universal versus targeted access problems and the relative importance of after-school programs need attention. Finally, after-school practitioners, policymakers, and academics must not lose sight of how such efforts may limit the potential to reach the most under-served or in-need adolescents.

This issue necessitates thinking about whom these programs do not serve and how we might effectively help them. In other words, we need to improve our understanding of after-school programs and how they serve youngsters, not just whether they help and how they could help more. Evidence-based method fostering programs among America’s diverse young throughout the US and the world.

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