COLLECTIVE HEALING THROUGH ART
ART, SELF-CARE, WHOLE COMMUNITY HEALING
Collective Healing through Art (CHTA) is a multi-dimensional approach to healing for BIPOC*, Queer, and other affinity group participants. Youth and older adults connect for eight weeks, exploring art and sharing stories through a trauma-informed curriculum. Together they unpack oppressive systems and learn healthy coping skills.
The Program
The 8-week Program Entails:
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Various art mediums
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Self-care & movement practices
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Supporting micro-businesses & artist/healers
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Healing whole-community events
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Participant stipends
*Black, Indigenous, People of Color
**Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual
Program Success
80+
Intergenerational BIPOC participants
90%
of Artists, Healers, and Facilitators are BIPOC and/or Queer
Dozens of Local Micro-businesses supported
For 2022 CHTA youth participants, there was a 26% decrease in loneliness and 12% increase in self-
160+
Attendees at community Events
2021
CHTA is created by Confidence Omenai and Haley Sanner. NextFifty Initiative provides a one-year grant.
2022
CHTA facilitates 3 cohorts for 60+ intergenerational participants in Denver.
2023
CHTA becomes a program of LinkAGES.
2023
Colorado Health Foundation provides a grant for CHTA & Big Brother Big Sister Collaboration.
A Closer Look at CHTA
Collective Healing through Art (CHTA) was created in 2021 by Confidence Omenai and Haley Sanner. The two met and instantly connected, they knew they wanted to create an intergenerational program that could help the BIPOC and LGBTQIA communities in Denver. With a grant from NextFifty Initiative, they were able to focus their efforts on developing a trauma-informed curriculum to unpack oppressive systems and help participants process their emotions to begin to heal.
After their initial grant was complete, CHTA became a program of LinkAGES. LinkAGES sat down with Confidence and Maurice Ka, Owner, Rosehouse Botanicals. Maurice was facilitating the program in which Haley and Confidence first met. He was also a guest-facilitator for CHTA and one of the businesses that was directly impacted by the program.
Collective Healing through Art: How One Intergenerational Program is Helping Heal a Denver Community
The Healing Power of Art, Storytelling, & Intergenerational Connection in communities that experience oppression and trauma.
Bringing Businesses into Intergenerational Programs: Why you should include micro and small businesses in your community programs.
Small Business and Community Health: The significance of protecting small business owners in local communities.
Program Designers / Facilitators
Haley Sanner she/her
Designer & Co-Founder of CHTA
Haley has experience as an innovative community-driven program leader, a passionate trauma-informed facilitator, and an intentional mixed-methods researcher. Haley serves on the Healthy Aging team at Colorado Health Network. She has worked in the aging field for over ten years, including with the AARP Foundation, LeadingAge Virginia, and Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountain, as well as Nepal. She is passionate about cultural alternatives to aging and multigenerational connections.
Confidence Omenai she/her
Designer & Co-Founder of CHTA
Confidence is a queer Nigerian-American poet, playwright, voice actor, mother of five, and breaker of chains. Her work explores death, rebirth, racism, and martyrdom on the altar of motherhood and marriage. She is a healing arts coordinator and activist facilitating writing workshops, performing, and encouraging radical self-interrogation at universities, schools, prisons, juvenile facilities, and more. She is a TEDx MileHigh Poet and Host, Pink Door Fellow, and Oklahoma State Alum.