Justice Creates
Justice and Creativity was created to be a grassroots prevention tool that incorporates art making and story telling to empower those who are most at risk for exploitation or trafficking.
The Justice and Creativity tool is based upon a 9-week curriculum that can be expanded or downsized. Each week, a different art medium and a different topic will be introduced: for example, “Express what is it like to be male/female using water colours to convey your thoughts.” There are always artistic staff available to help the participants with their art. In addition, there is story telling staff, who help the participants verbally process their expression on the topic.
The goal of Justice and Creativity project is to give voice to the very people who are not listened to in the society, while recognizing the value and worth of what they have to say.
The participants are given a space to share and express what their life is like to people who listen to them, which imparts self worth and value onto the participants.
The creative process is not simply a means to telling their story, but is a journey of self discovery. As participants learn to use various forms of creative expression, they discover gifts and potential within themselves. This discovery empowers them to try other new things. For example, they may realize: “If I can learn to paint, I can learn to type and if I can type, I could be a secretary.” Or… “If I can learn to write my story, I could be a journalist”. They realize they have the capacity to do new things and this gives them the confidence to step out into their dreams and passions – they now have hope. Participants full of confidence and hope will be less at risk of being exploited. For all of these benefits, Justice and Creativity can also be used with people who have already experienced trauma, such as human trafficking victims.
Download a written manual here: