From Cesar Garcia, Parks and Recreation Superintendent
Recently, our CAMP BRAVERY students enjoyed a creative activity with the Let Me Build A Home of My Own Program. This program is a clay art therapy project with an emphasis on interpersonal skills development. Each participant learns to work with clay, and learns to build his/her small clay home that was glazed and kiln-fired. The instructor asked questions about students’ lives, dreams, hopes, fears, and future goals, in an effort to engage them in conscious planning of their lives. The answers and engagement helped them build relationship skills, start actively thinking about their futures, and begin more purposeful thinking about their own lives. Through these interactions, each participant was encouraged not only to build their own family, but also to create a home where their new family would live: representing their future lives, goals, and aspirations. The Let Me Build A Home of My Own Program was innovative and provided a great opportunity for students to share their life stories in a safe, non-judgmental space. It also helped our youth build relationships with others, develop planning skills, set goals and discus actions necessary to achieve them.
