Undocumented Teen Moms, Health Justice and Digital Storytelling
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This document summarizes a digital storytelling project where 7 undocumented teen mothers shared their stories over 6 art therapy sessions. The project was facilitated by an art therapist from Florence Crittenton High School and aimed to explore inequities in health and education faced by the young women. Through sharing meals and creating art, the storytellers were able to open up about their experiences and gain a greater awareness of their minority status and limited options as immigrants. One participant in particular found the workshops empowering and said she now feels compelled to help create change.
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Undocumented Teen Moms, Health Justice and Digital Storytelling
- 1. Not Lucky Enough to Be Born Here
- 2. Undocumented Teen Moms, Health Justice, and Digital Storytelling Adriana Velasquez High School Senior | Florence Crittenton High School Donica Snyder Classroom-based Art Therapist | Florence Crittenton Services Marty Otañez Assistant Professor | University of Colorado, Denver YTH Live! Conference | San Francisco | April 27, 2015 Girl with Lilies by Diego Rivera
- 3. A Special Thank You! The National Florence Crittenton Aline Gubrium Suzelle Klein Cathy Bell Veronica Urquilla Tanya Robinson
- 4. Florence Crittenton High School | Denver, Colorado
- 5. Naropa University | Boulder, Colorado Transpersonal Counseling Psychology – Art Therapy
- 6. Adriana Velasquez | Class of 2015
- 7. Adriana Velasquez | Class of 2015
- 8. Project Summary • In/Equities along health and educational lines • 7 Storytellers, 6 meetings @ 1 hour each meeting, October 2014 • Funds provided by the University of Colorado Diversity and Excellence Grant Program
- 9. Workshop Processes Facilitator on Site Community in Food Art Therapy Approach
- 10. Facilitator on Site • Art class with Donica in 2012 Established trusting relationship • Acted as bridge to Strangers • Felt safety in knowing someone who “got me”
- 11. Community in Food • The real stories happen over enchiladas • A chance to get to know the facilitators • Food is significant in Mexican/Latino culture
- 12. A Mindful Art Therapy Approach “..move between visual and verbal forms of expression…” Carol Vandiver Lark, Using Art as Language in Large Group Dialogues “…capacity of another to bear affective witness…” Wendy B. Rosen, Making Great Memories
- 13. A Mindful Art Therapy Approach • Questions: Facts vs. Feelings • Navigating discomfort and opening up • Imagery that authentically delivers
- 14. Before the Workshop • School not a priority • I saw my future like my absent providing Mother • Why bother? Defeat in limited options as an immigrant
- 15. After the Workshop • Taking ownership of personal narrative • More awareness of systems and minority status • Wanting something more • Compelled to help! Something has to change
- 17. Adriana Velasquez AdrianaVelasquez1628@gmail.com Donica Snyder Donica_Snyder@dpsk12.org @Tweetnica Marty Otañez Marty.Otanez@ucdenver.edu @otanezm Project Website Tinyurl.com/nek7xug Contact
Editor's Notes
- Screen Adriana’s Digital Story
- Marty Introduces the Presentation
- Outline the presentation (Marty)
- Thanks for having us. As Marty said, my name is Donica Snyder and I am the classroom-based art therapist at Florence Crittenton Highschool. I am an art therapist who opperates inside the classroom. We are located in Denver Colorado and we are a public private partners ship between the non profit Florence Crittenton Services and Denver Public Schools. Our highschool offers young mothers the opportunity to complete their highschool diploma by providing wrap around servies that include an on site earling learning centers, social emotional development, parenting education, and post secondary support. We fundraise for diapiers and baby wipes – infanct and children basics so that our students can focus on school,
- I went to Naropa University in Boulder Colorado. My training is in Transpersonal Art Therapy. I utilize traditional talk therapy along with alternative methods of healing to foster personal development. Mindfulness practice is a large focus of the work. As a therapist I learn to sit and be present with my students and teach them to sit and be present with their feelings. In the classroom I highlight processes in the art making that are reflective of the students current inner state. I transfer the skills to be successful on a project to success in their everyday lives. The studio is also the perfect space to have intentional conversations and dialoug around the issues that matter to the students.
- 19 yrs old. senior at florence crittenton highschool. I have a 2 year old daughter named Hennesy. I graduate May 27th. I’m looking forward to seeing my mom’s face, becauese this is a great accomplishment for us. Things I’m involved in, I helped planned prom, working on shapes, and numbers and names of family members. Family members. I hang out with my friends, eat, and dancing., get my nails done. My prom dress was this color.
- 19 yrs old. senior at florence crittenton highschool. I have a 2 year old daughter named Hennesy. I graduate May 27th. I’m looking forward to seeing my mom’s face, becauese this is a great accomplishment for us. Things I’m involved in, I helped planned prom, working on shapes, and numbers and names of family members. Family members. I hang out with my friends, eat, and dancing., get my nails done. My prom dress was this color.
- [MARTY] Overall Project Summary
- So we have less than 8 hours to make something beautiful and meaningful; happen. We are asking students like Adriana – a young undocumented teen mother to trust this process. To open up and share her story which ultiimatey outs herself as an immigrant . l To write a script that captures it all, but keep it less than 3minutes. To record her voice, make imagery, and select sounds for a digital productin How do you build relationships, access important untold narratives and create digital stories in 7 hours? We have found that 3 factors positively impact our workshop. Faciolator on site, Community in Food, and an art therapy approach.
- t was helpful, could open up more freely - knowing donica for a year before storytelling was helpful, she could help support and expand my ideas. Even though i have good ideas, close minded. Don’t know how to open up without sounding plain. Helping articulate ideas. I knew you - and knew student iin previous class. Stranges come in and want to know about me. More difficult to open up. Better to have someone there that you know you can talk to. Talk to one person. Trusting Donica introduces acts as a bridge.
- Marty and I had done a workshop together previous to this one and it began after summer school at lunchtime. We provided lunch as Plays a huge role because it helps with us communicate our stories. It gives us a chance to talk about our stories, not Lunch is more comfortable, Scatter where we are comfortable. Getting to know the facilitators because they are not working. We cook together…. We all eat together and talk about our day, hows work, hows school. Talk about food. It’s a habit. It’s always been like that. It’s a tradition. my grandma always had us sit together and pray together. we should communicate together. It’s tradition.
- As an transpersonal art therapists my relationships are noticably different with students. Often they comment on my presence and my ability to articulate something they can’t quite get. Carol Lark states that because art therapists can move between visual and verbal forms of expression we are uniquely equipped to enter the domain of soically responsive and social action art areanas. I have to think how to use myself as a tool for intervention because it matters how I show up. ecovery from reatonal damage relies strongly on the capacity of another to bear affective witness to earlier wonds and in so doing, to introduce a potentilally new relational outcome in the present. Donica asks more questions. about us personally and what are feeling at the moment - asks about the emotions. Helpful to script writing. Makes us get the full picture of what we are talking about. when you have your mind set on something, your close minded. The story is done. that’s what you say it is and that’s how it is. When someoen from the outside asks good questions - can open up and revist the story, change my perspective.breakups go from being miseralee to empowering. ou Person on the outside needs to be someone who your not close with but someone your not strangers with. knows you enough to talk to you. Doesn’t know you too much either - becasue when someone knows you too much, they take your side right away, they think of you inside that box. Imagery is important to me because you want to convey the barb wire - the struggle...coming to the u.s.. risk themselves dehydrating. My dessert says that because the sun is setting, it’s getting dark. picture these people leaving their families, so tired at the end of the day, so they can bring more money to support their family. It’s a lonely looking dessert. Even though you know there are people - they are invisible. you don’t see them.
- As an transpersonal art therapists my relationships are noticably different with students. Often they comment on my presence and my ability to articulate something they can’t quite get. Carol Lark states that because art therapists can move between visual and verbal forms of expression we are uniquely equipped to enter the domain of soically responsive and social action art areanas. I have to think how to use myself as a tool for intervention because it matters how I show up. ecovery from reatonal damage relies strongly on the capacity of another to bear affective witness to earlier wonds and in so doing, to introduce a potentilally new relational outcome in the present. Donica asks more questions. about us personally and what are feeling at the moment - asks about the emotions. Helpful to script writing. Makes us get the full picture of what we are talking about. when you have your mind set on something, your close minded. The story is done. that’s what you say it is and that’s how it is. When someoen from the outside asks good questions - can open up and revist the story, change my perspective.breakups go from being miseralee to empowering. ou Person on the outside needs to be someone who your not close with but someone your not strangers with. knows you enough to talk to you. Doesn’t know you too much either - becasue when someone knows you too much, they take your side right away, they think of you inside that box. Imagery is important to me because you want to convey the barb wire - the struggle...coming to the u.s.. risk themselves dehydrating. My dessert says that because the sun is setting, it’s getting dark. picture these people leaving their families, so tired at the end of the day, so they can bring more money to support their family. It’s a lonely looking dessert. Even though you know there are people - they are invisible. you don’t see them.
- so busy trying to have friends, I didn’t care about school. My mother has always been a hard worker 2 full time jobs. 9-9 she has been gone. I would asnwer my phone calls when absent from school. Most of my family on my moms side are cooks - they have a decent life. They didn’t need education - if they can support a family of 5, I will be fine. I can always have a job and support myself. Why bother? My family has those kinds of jobs, but my family is mexican. They are immigrants. This is what my life is going to look like. I’m going to end up just like my mother.
- I started caring about school when I found out i was pregnant. didn’t want to be a statistic. “You had a kid and you have up” I wanted to show people that I could do it. Did not want it to be an excuse to not go to school. I don’t want that for my cook - I don’t want my child to not know where I’m at. I want to spend time with my daughter. Christian is a big help. Has a full time job. I can get a part time job, during the days. I want to do something that I enjoy. I want to be challenged. I’m smart enough to be challenged. My mother doesn’t enjoy her work and I want to be a part of something DACA - deferred action for childhood arrivals June 2012. Barack obama announced younger than 6. having social security. before DACA, had no options. kept coming to school. Wanted to do nails but it’s not going to pay the bills. Wanted to go to school for self and daughter Realized ..same steps as mom….daughter would end up like me if I were an absent mother I became more aware of the barriers against me because I’m undocumented. This made me angry, I’ve been in the US for 12 years. Something has to change and I want to be a part of it.. I want to help others like me.
- If they want someone to hear them out, to take the time to. Feel better about what they are doing, get something out of it. See the gold. Proud to see my life - to know that. knot in my stomach. Knot in my stomach.,..what if someone doesn’t like it and they talk down on me. Not sure how to react. Take the risk - because someone may feel the eact same way - can relate and that’s how change happens. - I’m an undocumented teen mom who made it because I had a community to support me and my family. I’ve been accepted to CU Boulder, but I can’t affor it. I’m choosing to go to Arapahoe Community College as a DACA Student. Daca is deffered Action…
- [MARTY] Closing Thoughts