Bounce Back
Bounce Back is a project designed to explore the healing power of creative spaces. It supports resilience in children and youth by thoughtfully engaging the community with arts and intergenerational dialogue for transformative healing. Funded by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Behavioral Health Coordinating Council Subcommittee on Children and Youth, Bounce Back is part of their work to advance the President's Unity Agenda and Mental Health Strategy and HHS' Roadmap for Behavioral Health Integration. The project was chosen from a pool of over 500 Resilience Challenge applicants nationwide and in June of 2024, was selected as a co-runner-up in the Challenge.
Inspired by a panel at a community event our reACTion program held in 2023 where youth, community members, and local artists discussed the relationship between creative expression and mental health, the CHC team developed an opportunity for youth, artists, and culture-bearers to immerse themselves in the themes discussed during that conversation. Following the panel, IWES felt an urgent need to promote resilience among youth, particularly youth that are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC), and/or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ), as they are at a heightened risk for social disadvantage and marginalization. An intergenerational collective of artists and creatives interested in healing and building resilience was convened — the Bounce Back Collective — and it began meeting once a month for four months to explore what resilience meant to them, culminating in a community-wide event celebrating youth and New Orleans culture in April 2024. For many, having an outlet for creative expression and exploration can be life-altering, and it has historically benefited the young people of New Orleans. By engaging youth who use the visual arts, music, dance, or other mediums, as well as their peers who have an interest in exploring the healing power of art, Bounce Back is a unique, culturally affirming opportunity to design restorative healing practices and community conversations to advance individual and collective well-being.
“it is important that when you have a creative outlet that it builds you as a person, not just your creativity…Even if you’re not the best at it, you’re able to do something that allows you to express yourselves and it allows you to grow and see yourself in a positive light.”
– Tyronae Smith, Bounce Back Collective member
“I come to these Bounce Back workshops and I’m allowed to kind of, release and express myself, to reconnect with myself, rebuild that trust that I have, or that I want to have with myself and my community.”
– Laila Terry, Bounce Back Collective member
From November 2023 to June 2024,
IWES worked closely with Bounce Back’s intergenerational cohort of youth, artists, and culture bearers to create healing spaces to promote mental health and resilience. Various members of New Orleans’ diverse artistic community led sessions with The Collective with the goal of exploring the healing effects of creative expression and expansion. They met monthly and focused on different modalities in each session, beginning with history and ancestral connection, then moving on to storytelling, and finally ending in a one-day session with immersive activities in photography, music, dance, and theater. Throughout these sessions, IWES evaluated the impact of these workshops on the Collective’s mental and emotional health. Following the four months of programming, IWES held a free community Red Tent event which scaled up the wellness activities explored during previous workshops and included services like massage, reiki, and tarot readings as well as a drum circle. Partners at the event included the New Orleans Public Library, GrowDat Youth Farm, Girls Rock New Orleans, Trans Queer Youth, and KID smART. Reflecting on the importance of the event, youth participant, Laila Terry stated that,
“having places where you can, kind of, find a safe place and really release all the stressors of your everyday life is truly important.”
Another youth, Gabriella Wicker, expressed gratitude
“that we were able to bring these kinds of workshops out to New Orleans youth,” and that she “can’t wait to see what else we do with Bounce Back.”
In May 2024,
members from the IWES team traveled to Washington, DC for HHS’ Children and Youth Resilience Challenge Summit to meet the other 13 finalists in the Challenge and present about our experience and learnings so far. Following the Summit, the Bounce Back team designed a report describing the program and sharing our findings, results, and takeaways, which was then submitted to an expert panel of adults and youth familiar with this work, in order to be judged for the selection of the winner of the Challenge. In June we were notified that we were selected as one of two Runner Ups, and we received a prize as well as technical assistance and mentorship to scale and implement Bounce Back in the future. We are thrilled to have received this additional funding to sustain the mental health and resilience of New Orleans youth through the arts, culture, nature, and ancestral connection. We will use the lessons learned from the initial phase of the program to explore opportunities to adapt current programming and further develop school partnerships to bring more healing arts-based activities to children and youth.
“By recognizing the value of artists in the community
and integrating their work into community development, New Orleans can enhance its cultural vibrancy, stimulate economic growth, and foster greater community cohesion, all while celebrating and supporting the local arts and culture scene like we’ve been doing for centuries.”
– Ka’sha Fenceroy, University of New Orleans Anthropology Major; Youth Organizer for Trans Queer Youth NOLA
“New Orleans, already being a creative hub, has the potential to foster even more community links
if the importance of the arts is pushed even further. One of the things that we discuss the most, especially with this current fellowship is youth. If youth get more involved in the arts we will be able to see stronger links of social safety and could aid issues currently present in New Orleans like voter turnout in the years to come seeing as the arts have a link to higher civic activity participation.”
- Aaliyah Bailey, Xavier University Psychology Major
“Artists in this city are doing a lot of community work
and should be recognized as more than just artists, but also community leaders. It is important that we take a different approach in discussing artistry in New Orleans and really pay attention to how it shapes the social, physical, and economic character of the community.”
– Ama Sumbry, Xavier University Psychological Science Major