Fostering Resiliency and Empowerment Among Young People Exposed to Community Trauma and Violence through Photovoice and Hip Hop Arts

Background and Purpose: The Southern Oaks community is situated in a state with one of the highest incarceration rates in the U.S.. Additionally, the Southern Oaks neighborhood lies in one of the most impoverished census tracts in the state. Due to these significant challenges, a community-university collaboration was formed to help promote resiliency, wellbeing, and empowerment among young people through combining trauma-informed practices and participatory arts-based programming. This paper seeks to make a modest contribution to the literature by showing how trauma-informed practices and participatory arts can be combined to promote resiliency among young people exposed to community trauma and violence.

Methods:

This intervention utilized a YPAR informed approach to provide opportunities for young people between the ages of 7-17, who have experienced exposure to community trauma and violence, to participate in a 16-week arts-based after school program taught by local artists at a local community center and library. A purposive sample of 34 young people from a local elementary, middle school, and high school participated in the program. Youth presented art products and performances in a community arts exhibition to teachers, parents, business leaders, and decision makers to advocate for youth voice related to community factors that contribute to trauma and resiliency. After the program concluded, 4 focus groups were completed with youth to better understand what impact and benefits participation in the program had on youth empowerment and resiliency. All data was analyzed using thematic analysis to code for concepts, categories, and themes related to resiliency and empowerment. Focus group themes were compared with youth art themes to better understand how youth experienced their community through a trauma and resiliency perspective.

Results:

Qualitative results included: More than 75% of youth focused some portion of art products and narratives on positive strengths in their community, with positive places and people being the most important asset identified by youth. Themes emerging from youth identified challenges focused on safety threats associated with gangs, bullying, and community violence. Focus group results further emphasized that young people took pride in coming from their schools and community, regardless of negative reputation. Youth also overwhelmingly acknowledged the impact of the program on helping them find a way to talk to adults in power positions. Finally, a major theme identified in focus groups was the benefits of peer-to-peer mentorship that younger and older youth identified as one of their favorite aspects of the program.

Implications: Results of this study point to a need for collaboration across clinical and community level research and practice in developing interventions for youth exposed to trauma and violence. Additionally, the results of this intervention suggest that young people, despite exposure to trauma and violence, may still maintain a positive outlook and perspective which can be used as an asset in youth informed participatory interventions. Finally, this intervention shows promise for positive outcomes related to mentorship and interpersonal skills by inclusion of older and younger youth in the intervention.