McKenzie Wren, MPH,  Wren Consulting

The link to the recording of the webinar "Engaging with The Tiny Survival Guide" can be found under Webinar Recordings.

"Adult providers need healing too! Healing centered engagement requires that we consider how to support adult providers in sustaining their own healing and well-being. We cannot presume that adulthood is a final, trauma-free destination. Healing is an ongoing process that we all need, not just young people who experience trauma.” - Shawn Ginwright, The Future of Healing: Shifting from Trauma-Informed Care to Healing-Centered Engagement

Social Security Resources

Work Incentives Planning & Assistance (WIPA): Programs to provide free benefits counseling to people who receive SSI and/or SSDI beneficiaries to help you make informed choices about work. WIPAs provide information and referral services related to work incentives. Find your local WIPA at https://choosework.ssa.gov/findhelp/

1. The physical and emotional benefits of dance are enjoyed by neurotypical and atypical students alike. Physically, as we strengthen our bodies and voices, we become more expressive and resilient overall. Emotionally, dancing helps us relax, refresh, and feel connected to our community.

2. To help students practice spontaneity and leadership skills, invite them to add their ideas to a dance. Start with a follow-the-leader approach and then ask for volunteers to contribute new movements. For example, demonstrate three circular movements and then ask, “What other circles can we make with our body?” Their answers form the building blocks of the dance.

According to recent statistics from the US Census, there are currently over 20 million veterans and active duty service members in the United States. Although arts play an important role in healing, the veteran community is often overlooked in programming. New Mexico Arts (NMA), a state arts agency, and Art Spark Texas, a nonprofit focused on inclusive arts, are two organizations emphasizing and creating programming for veterans and military families. 

Discovering the Gap

“In 2009, we realized there were a lot of veterans in our community and people who we were going to war and coming back, but not identifying as people with disabilities, which is the population we work with,” says Art Spark’s ArtWorks Director, April Sullivan. “The terminology didn’t relate to them.” 

Christena Gunther is the founder and steering committee co-chair of the Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium which was honored with a Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability Emerging Leader Award in 2015. Christena speaks nationally and internationally about cultural accessibility, and is a strong advocate for the importance of establishing a local access knowledge network in one’s own community. We sat down for a Q&A with Christena about the benefits she has seen working with the cultural community in Chicago, Illinois. 

2017-2019 CCAC Steering Committee at their first fundraiser in May 2019 at Lagunitas Brewery. Pictured from left to right: Anna Cosner, Evan Hatfield, Christena Gunther, Hillary Pearson, Alyssa Harsha, Brittany Pyle, Matt Bivins, Risa Jaz Rifkind, Rachel Arfa, Lynn Walsh, Jeanna Rathell (and baby Frankie), Kris Nesbitt. Missing from photo: Steering Committee member Mike Shaw.