More News Stories

• Working Toward Her Goals

  I work in a group home for teens that have been involved in human trafficking or are at high risk...[Read more]

• Feelings Held Inside

  This was a great experience! The conversation around the art project was strong. Our team openly shared their views on...[Read more]

• Trusting the Process

  One day we were creating masks as part of the “Revealing Power and Beauty” workshop. As usual, everyone was fairly...[Read more]

• Strength & Unity

  We were traveling on a bus to DC with the Youth From Standing Rock, and we created touchstones to hold...[Read more]

• Stories Emerge Through Art

  Lissa is an AWBW facilitator who works at Insight Human Services Women’s Recovery Center in North Carolina. She holds a...[Read more]

• Speaking Freely From the Heart

  An eight-year-old girl who was residing at the shelter was exhibiting a lot of adverse behavior: she refused to attend...[Read more]

• Silence to Spoken

  Ten-year-old Everly wore her hurting heart on her sleeve. The look in her eyes read broken, sad and lonely. I...[Read more]

• Silence is Sometimes Needed

  Ceirra and Melissa are AWBW facilitators who work in the WINGS (Women in Need Growing Strong) Domestic Violence Program at...[Read more]

• Safety and Connection

  “Being a facilitator means that I have the skills and support to make my world a better place through my...[Read more]

• Releasing Trauma Through Art

  Emily, age 15, and her mother experienced physical, emotional, financial, and sexual abuse at the hands of their perpetrator. The...[Read more]

• Rediscovering a Smile

  One eight year old girl I work with in the after school program, Stephanie, was so closed off that she...[Read more]

• Positive Energy

  We have a survivor at our shelter that has really been through so much. She has been with us for...[Read more]

• Opening Up

  Lauren is an AWBW facilitator at Swain Recovery Center, a residential treatment program for substance use and mental health. “Art...[Read more]

• Life Trees

  I did the Story Tree art workshop with youth advocates at our youth advocates task force meeting. They are just...[Read more]

• Letting Go of Judgment

  When 15-year-old Vanessa arrived at our shelter with her mother she was feeling defeated and hopeless. This shy girl wouldn’t...[Read more]

• Journaling as a Form of Meditation

  This story is from a workshop with survivors of violence who are isolated from family and friends during this pandemic....[Read more]

• Internalized Fear

  This drawing was made by a student I just recently began working with. He is one of only a handful...[Read more]

• I Was No Longer The Same

  For many years I experienced both physical and verbal abuse by my husband, the father of my children. It was...[Read more]

• I Am Not to Blame

  Danny was 11 years old. His father abused him verbally and physically. He also witnessed his mother and younger brother...[Read more]

• Healing Historical Trauma

  In February, UAII hosted the first of 6 workshops in the Women’s Empowerment workshop series. I facilitated a Touchstones workshop...[Read more]

• Gaining Strength

  Elizabeth is an AWBW facilitator and the founder of Students Turn 4 Greatness in Northern California, which partners with local...[Read more]

• Finding I Can

  I have been working with a 45-year old Latina woman, who has one 11-year old child. In 2012, this client...[Read more]

• Finding Connection Through Art

  We began our art group late one day because a fight broke out between two participants just before we started....[Read more]

• Finding a Positive Path Through Trauma

  A 7-year-old boy had witnessed a lot of domestic violence and traumatic events in a short period of time. When...[Read more]

• Creating a Safe Space

  This month something happened. I let go of all expectations. I went with the wind during this one workshop, and...[Read more]

• Confidence and Creativity

  I’m pretty sure you’re the wonderful people who supply the healing arts workshops for the survivors of domestic violence at...[Read more]

• Breaking the Cycle

  Abuse had been a part of my life since childhood. There was no place in which I could express myself,...[Read more]

• Being Your True Self

  “Being a part of AWBW makes me feel supported and connected to this community of healers working to make this...[Read more]

• AWBW Allowed Me to Glimpse My Future

  During one of my very first support group sessions, the “Center of My Universe” project was presented. I vividly remember...[Read more]

• Art Evoking Lost Stories

  The Story Trees workshop was the first Windows workshop I facilitated at my new job. The women were recently released...[Read more]

• A Step in the Right Direction

  This is from the workshop “Anger Volcano.” The participant is 11 years old. He has been at our shelter a...[Read more]

• A Commitment to Self-Care

  Windows Facilitator Eydie recently shared with us, “Art is a wonderful medium for compassionate intervention because it gives our clients...[Read more]