Adults

Pathways for Change, Inc.
Massachusettes
  • Self-Care & Personal Growth
  • Self-Care & Personal Growth
This month something happened. I let go of all expectations. I went with the wind during this one workshop, and it really paid off! I “got out of my own way.” I think my survivors felt extra in tune with their emotions and abilities; maybe I just was capabl…
Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse
California
  • Incarceration
  • Incarceration
  • Substance Abuse Recovery
The Story Trees workshop was the first Windows workshop I facilitated at my new job. The women were recently released from prison and would not enter the art room without permission. But there was a look of sheer glee on their faces peeking into the room. I gu…
YWCA - San Gabriel Valley
California
  • Domestic Violence
  • Domestic Violence
Abuse had been a part of my life since childhood. There was no place in which I could express myself, no person to whom I could reveal what was happening. My family told me that what happens at home stays at home. At 21 I met my husband, a policeman, and I …
University of Missouri – Kansas City
Missouri
  • Facilitator Spotlights
  • Schools & Universities
  • Self-Care & Personal Growth
This "Uplifting Voices: Facilitator Stories" video features Arzie Umali, MPA, who is the Senior Assistant Director of the Women's Center at University of Missouri - Kansas City. As students return to school, it is essential to acknowledge the value of self-…
Oregon State University-Cascades
Oregon
  • Schools & Universities
I led an art workshop for a group of graduate program physical therapy students with diverse life experiences. These students often work in high-stress environments, serving a variety of populations, while also balancing the demands of academics and rotations.…
Indigenous Strategies for HONOR Collective
Arizona
  • Staff & Organizational Development
In this video, Melodie Lopez shares how art serves as a powerful tool for healing, connection, and cultural resilience. Through creative workshops, she helps individuals and communities navigate trauma, express their experiences, and build stronger connections…
Safe Passage, Inc.
Indiana
  • Domestic Violence
This workshop had two participants, both in their mid-fifties. Both ladies are starting completely over after having survived domestic violence and sexual assault. One has just moved into her own housing and the other will be moving into her own apartment by t…
Trauma and Healing in Color
California
  • Facilitator Spotlights
This “Uplifting Voices: Facilitator Stories” video features La Shonda Coleman, LCSW, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at Pepperdine University and Founder of Trauma and Healing in Colour, a program that fuses art, somatic based healing modalities, …
PAVE - People Against A Violent Environment
Wisconsin
  • Self-Care & Personal Growth
Since it was snowing outside at the time, the group thought it would be neat to do this as a "snowflakes of thanks" activity. So we adapted on the spot and changed out supplies to do snowflakes. We all had fun with it and the kids were really excited to get…
Arise Daughter
Florida
  • Grief & Loss
The holidays can be a traumatizing time for women who have experienced reproductive loss. This workshop, designed by our team member Roxanne Fields, took us through the acknowledgment of how we are currently feeling and where we would like our feelings to even…
PAVE
Wisconsin
  • Incarceration
This “Vision Seeds” video features Sylvia Ortiz, of PAVE, in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. A Windows Facilitator since 2024, Sylvia anchors her vision for supporting Rooted in Resilience, seeing the leadership of each facilitator as branches of a collective tree, and…
Trauma and Healing in Color
California
  • Facilitator Spotlights
This “Uplifting Voices: Facilitator Stories” video features La Shonda Coleman, LCSW, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at Pepperdine University and Founder of Trauma and Healing in Colour, a program that fuses art, somatic based healing modalities, …
A Window Between Worlds
California
  • Self-Care & Personal Growth
Join Kat, Training and Outreach Coordinator, as she shares about facilitating the "Take a Break, Self Regulate!" art workshop at AWBW's two-day facilitator training. The activity invites participants to reflect on taking breaks and create personalized dice to …
Child & Family Services
New York
  • Facilitator Spotlights
  • Advocacy (legislation, voter mobilization, etc.)
  • Domestic Violence
This "Uplifting Voices: Facilitator Stories" video features Lucy Tschachtli, one of our longest serving facilitators. She first experienced art as a tool for healing in 1991, on AWBW Founder Cathy Salser's first tour across the country sharing art as a window …
Sure Helpline Center
California
  • Domestic Violence
This “Vision Seeds” video features Johana Ramirez, of Sure Helpline Center in El Centro, California. A Windows Facilitator since 2024, Johana reflects on her own journey of using art to anchor herself in the midst of trauma and chaos, and how today, she is hon…
Catalyst
California
  • Domestic Violence
Leading the workshop "Inspiration Rocks!" to introduce A Window Between Worlds to the group at the domestic violence shelter where I work just made sense. Survivors in shelter have done rock painting for far longer than my tenure at the agency. Those who jo…
YWCA - San Gabriel Valley
California
  • Domestic Violence
  • Domestic Violence
During one of my very first support group sessions, the "Center of My Universe" project was presented. I vividly remember how powerful it felt to trust my instincts and select the images I was drawn to. At the time I was so preoccupied with trying to get throu…
PFLAG San Gabriel Valley / API Chapter
California
  • Facilitator Spotlights
This “Innovator Spotlight” video features Stacia Kato,  president of the PFLAG San Gabriel Valley Asian Pacific Islander chapter which has supported parents, individuals, and allies at the intersection of LGBTQ+ and Asian for the past ten years; building upon …
United American Indian Involvement (UAII)
California
  • Facilitator Spotlights
  • Community Engagement
  • Social Justice (anti-oppression, restorative justice, systems change, etc.)
In this "Uplifting Voices: Facilitator Stories" video, Nikki Crow, a Prevention and Aftercare Care Coordinator at United American Indian Involvement (UAII), shares how the AWBW art workshop "Journey Footprints" honors our resilience and helped one of her parti…
Indigenous Strategies for HONOR Collective
Arizona
Indigenous Strategies for HONOR Collective
Arizona
In this video, Melodie Lopez shares how art serves as a powerful tool for healing, connection, and cultural resilience. Through creative workshops, she helps individuals and communities navigate trauma, express their experiences, and build stronger c…
Lavender Healing Collective
California
Lavender Healing Collective
California
Tiombe Wallace shares the powerful ways art fosters self and community care, particularly for Queer and Trans Black, Indigenous, and People of Color survivors, advocates, and hotline workers. Through AWBW’s creative workshops, staff and interns find …
A Window Between Worlds
California
A Window Between Worlds
California
I have facilitated the My Traveling Story workshop many times, but one experience truly stands out. I worked for years with a woman who survived domestic violence. Violence from her partner that tragically took the lives of her unborn twin babies. At…
Oregon State University-Cascades
Oregon
Oregon State University-Cascades
Oregon
I facilitated Touchstone Journey for Resident Assistants (RAs) who were navigating the aftermath of a significant conflict within their residence hall and team. This group of students came from a variety of backgrounds but shared the challenge of pro…
Oregon State University-Cascades
Oregon
Oregon State University-Cascades
Oregon
I led an art workshop for a group of graduate program physical therapy students with diverse life experiences. These students often work in high-stress environments, serving a variety of populations, while also balancing the demands of academics and …
Juntos/Lennox School District
California
Juntos/Lennox School District
California
This Wellness in the Workplace video features AWBW facilitator and social worker Emily Cummins Polk, who founded Juntos, a nonprofit bringing trauma-informed wellness to the Lennox School District. Over a decade, art has evolved from a simple tool to…
Center of Life
Pennslyvania
Center of Life
Pennslyvania
In this video, Kiyomi Knox shares how creative practices like Self-Care Safety Plans, Intention Touchstones, and Kintsugi help staff and community members find moments of reflection, healing, and connection. By integrating art into daily routines and…
The Adult Skills Center
California
The Adult Skills Center
California
I facilitated the Touchstone Journey art workshop for a group of four adults, aged 30 to 43, with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The participants’ life experiences included challenges such as the loss of parents through death or divorce…
Just Detention International - South Africa, Gauteng Province
Just Detention International - South Africa, Gauteng Province
We witnessed the adaptability of AWBW’s worksheets during our third workshop with women at Atteridgeville Gender Responsive Centre. We planned to facilitate a “Positive Piggies” workshop, inviting participants to consider and acknowledge their positi…
Los Angeles Unified School District
California
Los Angeles Unified School District
California
In the midst of devastating wildfires in LA County, I facilitated an art workshop for staff and students in grades 1-5 to help them explore their emotions through creativity. The fires had left many students and staff grappling with fear, sadness, an…
Safe Passage
Massachusetts
Safe Passage
Massachusetts
I facilitated the Personal Needs Flowers art workshop for a group of caregivers who are survivors of domestic violence. This art activity was chosen to create a space where the participants could focus on self-care while honoring and prioritizing the…
Garden Grove Unified School District
California
Garden Grove Unified School District
California
At the start of the school year, I facilitated the Journey Markers workshop for a group of mental health specialists as part of a staff development session. I chose this workshop as a way for them to reflect on their paths in the mental health field,…
Safe Passage
MA
Safe Passage
MA
I recently facilitated the "Mask of Survival" art workshop for a group of caregivers at Safe Passage, an organization that supports survivors of domestic violence.  We had five wonderful participants, all of whom shared some common life experiences: …
Women’s & Children’s Crisis Shelter
California
Women’s & Children’s Crisis Shelter
California
I organized a collage activity for the mothers currently residing at our shelter, inviting them to create visual representations of their hopes and dreams for the future. Each of them has faced the challenges of experiencing intimate partner violence…
Para Los Ninos
California
Para Los Ninos
California
Part of my role with Para Los Niños is to train and supervise master's level social work trainees by equipping them to work with our students with social emotional learning. Our student population is primary and secondary students who reside in or ar…
Sacramento Children's Home
California
Sacramento Children's Home
California
AWBW art Facilitator, Liz Miller Oliver, is the Training Specialist at Sacramento Children’s Home. The Organization provides crisis support for families residential care for foster youth who have suffered trauma and services for that focus on child a…
Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse
California
Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse
California
I work at a substance use disorder and mental health dual diagnosis outpatient facility with adults, most of whom are conditionally released to treatment by courts. Our supplies are limited and I adapted the Affirmation Mandala Shrinky Dink workshop …
Blossoms Windows
California
Blossoms Windows
California
A good friend of mine, Dougie, crossed over the Rainbow Bridge at the end of May. He was only 56 years old. Within days of his passing, his widow, Sigrid, and I began talking about how brave he was – the way he handled his diagnosis, the thousand dec…
A Greater Hope
California
A Greater Hope
California
The structure of the AWBW training (online and interactive), coupled with the detailed curriculum that provides easy to follow step by step instructions any paraprofessional can follow, combined with the universally engaging nature of the workshops m…

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