Bounce Back
The Bounce Back Collective is a project designed to explore the healing power of creative spaces. Bounce Back is designed to support resilience in children and youth by thoughtfully engaging the community with arts and intergenerational dialogue for transformative healing. Bounce Back is a program funded by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Behavioral Health Coordinating Council Subcommittee on Children and Youth as part of their work to advance the President's Unity Agenda and Mental Health Strategy and HHS' Roadmap for Behavioral Health Integration. Our project was selected from a pool of over 500 Resilience Challenge applicants nationwide. IWES joins 14 other finalists in this challenge and will compete to showcase community-led solutions to support resilience in children and youth.
Inspired by a panel we hosted at our reACTion community event in May 2023 where youth, community members, and local artists led a panel about the relationship between creative expression and mental health, we decided to create an opportunity for youth, artists, and culture-bearers to further explore this topic. There is an urgent need to promote resilience, particularly among youth that are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC), or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ), as they are at a heightened risk for social disadvantage and marginalization. For many, having an outlet for creative expression and exploration can be life-altering, and it has historically benefited the young people of New Orleans. By engaging youth who use the visual arts, music, dance, or other mediums, as well as their peers who have an interest in exploring the healing power of art, Bounce Back presents a unique, culturally affirming opportunity to design restorative healing practices and community conversations to advance individual and collective well-being.
The Bounce Back Collective will:
CONVENE A COHORT OF 10 YOUTH WITH AN INTEREST IN THE ARTS TO ENVISION AND SHAPE CREATIVE SPACES FOR HEALING
BUILD PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO WORK WITHIN THE ARTS TO PROVIDE EDUCATION AND TRAINING AROUND THE CONNECTION BETWEEN RESILIENCE AND THE ARTS
COMPETE NATIONALLY FOR A GRAND PRIZE!
From November 2023 to April 2024,
IWES will work closely with the Bounce Back Collective’s intergenerational cohort of youth, artists, and culture bearers to create healing spaces to promote mental health and resilience. The Collective will convene in spaces led by various members of New Orleans’ diverse artistic community, with the goal of exploring the healing effects of creative expression and expansion. The Collective will meet monthly and focus on a different modality in each session, and IWES will collect qualitative data on the impacts of these workshops on their mental and emotional health.
In May 2024,
representatives of our project will travel to Washington, DC for the Resilience Challenge Summit to present our findings. In June, Grand Prize and Runners Up will be announced; one grand prize winner will receive $300,000, and up to two runners-up will receive $175,000 each. Grand prize and runners-up winners will be offered technical assistance and mentorship post-award to scale and implement their pilot projects. Additional opportunities for cross-learning to share information, progress, and lessons learned will be provided.