Why It Is Critical to Support Young People in Opening Up About Their Pain, Loss, Shame; and How to Channel It Into Writing, Art, and Other Forms of Creativity
Amy Friedman, Executive Editor, Out of the Woods Press
Leticia Longoria-Navarro, Executive Director, The Pathfinder Network
Victor Trillo, The PATHfinder Club and POPS the Club Program Manager
PATHfinder and POPS Clubs support youth who are the daughters, sons, siblings and other loved ones of those who have been or are incarcerated, detained or deported; some of the youth served have themselves been incarcerated. And although the US is addicted to incarceration, too often these young people who have experienced painful losses are stigmatized and shamed.
These clubs are designed to combat the silencing that follows in the face of stigma and shame. For the past 12 years, club leaders—teachers, counselors, volunteers or staff from The Pathfinder Network, the nonprofit that manages these clubs across the country—co-create with the youth a healthy, healing community. In clubs, everyone is seen and heard. Our goal is to deepen the confidence of these young people to stay in school and graduate, to set and achieve longer-term goals, to deepen and expand their resilience. We strive to help them conquer challenges and, just as importantly, to embrace opportunities.
Among those opportunities is the use of self-expression—writing, storytelling, drawing, painting, music making, photography and other creative expressions—to forge deep connections with peers, families, and communities.
Daily we learn from these young people that everyone brings a unique value into this world. Most of us understand that it is difficult for any teenager to embrace their own dignity, but in clubs, we encourage youth to stand tall and recognize their strengths that often appear in ways, and by means, least expected.
Take, for instance, Julian who, one day in club was nervously doodling on a piece of paper. Or perhaps he wasn’t nervous but was bored or distracted. Jessica sitting beside him leaned over and looked closely. She pointed at his doodle. “That’s a face,” she said, “who is it?” Julian looked at his doodle in a way he never had, and out of that doodle grew a series—drawings of people’s faces he’d had no idea he was aching to make. And soon what had felt meaningless to him became a project that offered ways for him to glimpse his inner thoughts, and a chance to share those.
By the next week, a group of kids were doodling and opening up about things they’d never spoken of.
We’ve often been in the room when someone says something they think is meaningless, but someone else hears it as an expression of something true, like the day John B said, “I’ve been experimenting with my life,” and a few others looked up. “Yeah, me too…” someone said.
And out of that simple expression grew a poem that became almost an anthem John was asked to read at his graduation ceremony. Now, 10 years later, John is a working musician, writing lyrics his deepest love.
Another day, Vida said, “this club feels like family,” and others agreed. Later, after Vida had an accident and was struggling to heal, as fellow club members helped her, she began to draw gears. Those gears turned into a painting that, for Vida and her friends became a drawing of who they are as a group—gears that on their own do one small thing but altogether are a powerful machine that can move mountains.
Following Vida’s lead we added a writing prompt. “What is family?” and we invited club members to explore every facet of family, prompting beautiful work and new understanding.
Another prompt that astonished us came from a day one of the kids said, “Where do you come from?”
“An unstable house and a cherry treehouse.”
“Fear that’s made me fierce.”
“Beautiful strong women who teach me life lessons…”
That prompt has inspired many dozens of beautiful poems.
“Try haiku,” we suggest when people think they can’t create. Five syllables/seven/five, and start with: “No one understands.”
“No one understands/the me I want to become/but I want them to”
“No one understands/math which is what I most love/because it adds up”
“No one understands/my dog who thinks she can talk/but I understand
Evocative poems, stories and art pour out of them, and each year we publish a collection of their works. Professionally edited, proofread, and designed, when the book is released, we see in the creators’ eyes their confidence expanding.
When people first see their work in print, or when they draw something someone hangs on their wall, or when they play an instrument and someone swoons, the creator feels good. It’s powerful to be recognized for one’s unique and singular abilities.
As we nurture their creativity, we are encouraging these kids to recognize their strengths.
Many talk about the way courage, like fear, is contagious, and we have learned that strength, too, is contagious. So is curiosity, creativity, kindness, and success.
Pablo Picasso wrote: “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” When youth make art, we see this idea manifest. Whether writing a poem or creating a mural, singing or dancing or painting, in the act of creating, the dust of daily life begins to wash away. When we celebrate their creations, still more dust washes away.
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The young artists of The PATHfinder and POPS Clubs whose poetry, stories, and art are represented in Home and Away let readers in on their vulnerability and longing, their tenderness and understanding. They write of dreams of bright futures and of challenging pasts. With each piece, we are invited to dive more deeply into their truths.
And in this powerful collection we learn that when youth feel safe, seen, nourished, and respected, they can fully express themselves. These creators’ lives have been impacted by carceral systems, and because their clubs offer spaces where they are seen, heard, and respected, they have breathed extraordinary life and light into their creations.
“Home and Away is a beautiful collection of stories, poetry, and art created by extraordinary youth. Offering important lessons on belonging and marginalization, it will simultaneously expand, touch, break, and mend your heart.”
—Naomi Ackerman, founder and Executive Director, Advot
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Category: On Writing
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