TIMB Napa Valley awards 3 local grants from 2020 show proceeds
Local Non-Profits Receive Grants to Address Teen Mental Health Through Art – This Is My Brave-Napa Valley awards $7,000 for mental health & arts projects
Three local organizations have been awarded grants for projects addressing “Healing Teen Mental Health Through Art.” The grant awards reflect diverse artistic approaches, including mosaics, silk screening, and cultural performance. Three local projects will receive between $2,000 and $2,500 each, totaling $7,000 in funds awarded. These grants are possible due to the generous sponsorship of the 2020 This Is My Brave-Napa Valley show which featured teens and young adults sharing their stories of mental health recovery through original poetry, storytelling, music, and dance. Leading sponsors of this show included Adventist Health – St. Helena, Arts Council Napa Valley, Napa Valley College, St. Joseph Health – Queen of the Valley and the Staglin Family. Arts Council Napa Valley generously provided their grant platform for the proposals and will administer the funds.
Grant Recipients:
Stepping Stones for Mental Health – Teens Connect – Mentis
In collaboration with local artist Kristina Young, Mentis’ Teen Council members will create 15 mosaic “Stepping Stones for Mental Health,” visually illustrating mental health and wellness themes. The mosaic stepping stones will initially be displayed at the Napa County Public Library and then permanently installed at high schools in American Canyon, Napa, St Helena, and Calistoga. In addition, Mentis and Teens Connect plan to document the workshops and display the artwork on social media sites and feature the project in their monthly newsletter.
Silk Screen Project – Boys & Girls Club of Napa
In partnership with Di Rosa Preserve teaching artists, teens at the Boys & Girls Club will participate in a silk screening project spanning October 2021 – May 2022. The focus will be using trauma-informed teaching and social emotional learning techniques for expression through the arts. The project objective is to create opportunities for teens to express themselves and create in a safe space for expressing how their experience during the pandemic has affected them. Through art they will share the challenges and tools they have used to cope with isolation and change.
Ballet Folklorico – Napa County Office of Education/ Mariposa Program
More than 90% of Mariposa youth identify as Latinx. This project uses traditional Mexican dance, Ballet Folklorico, and music as a healthy way to deal with stress, anxiety, and depression, while also gaining important insights on balancing two cultures and embracing diversity. During the pandemic, students disclosed struggling with anxiety and depression and expressed having difficulty in approaching their parents about their experiences due to generational differences. This program will provide a space for students to build confidence, provide opportunities to embrace their culture through art, and connect with parents to break mental health stigma among the Latinx community. To facilitate discussion with their teens, parents will participate in mental health awareness training.
About This Is My Brave
This Is My Brave-Napa Valley was initiated as a 2017 Leadership Napa Valley Practicum Project to reduce the stigma of mental illness in Napa Valley. This Is My Brave, Inc. is a national nonprofit that empowers individuals to put their names and faces on their true stories of recovery from mental illness and addiction. By bringing these issues into public conversation, they provide a sense of hope for others and help put an end to mental health stigma in our community.
