Nicole: It allows them room to make mistakes, and to understand that it’s okay to make mistakes, and to learn from it. We help them process that and unpack it, because a lot of them come in with no confidence at all, like I can’t draw, I’m not going to be able to do this. And we come in and we’re like, that’s okay! You don’t have to know how to draw—we’ll teach you! You can do whatever, so if you want to doodle, that’s fine. At the end of the day, they actually do end up doing the project. We tell them that mistakes are going to happen, and you learn from them, and that’s life.

Derrick: It builds the students’ self-esteem. People doubt them, saying, this is not right, that is not right. They normally don’t get a voice or the opportunity to speak, to express themselves. They’re used to being given orders. Once you unlock the cage, it’s like, hey I can do this the way I want this way, I can do it the way I want that way. It’s not forced upon you, even though our students are mandated to participate for community service. It’s a form of fun and expression. They come in here with this stone wall up, and then it falls down. The hardest ones are the most passionate creators.

Ellissa: Part of what makes it unique is the special training that our teaching artist have, in trauma-informed care and restorative practices, and the encouragement that the teaching artists give. Whenever I do my site evaluations, I come in and notice that the teaching artists are giving really positive feedback to the kids, that they’re able to separate what the kids have done from who the kids are, which is part of restorative practice. I think in the back of their heads they’re always thinking, it’s not what’s wrong with you, it’s what happened to you. That is a different method of teaching.

Derrick: Often, our youth are looked at as the forgotten ones. Even though you might be far away or confined, your art still has a presence, in society, in the classroom, and outside. So technically you’re still here, and you’re not written off. The kids, once they reach out, that’s it. We can’t reach them all, but the minute one reaches out, we just grab them.

Monica: We ask the students what type of art they want to learn, and they have great ideas. We try to implement their ideas in our curriculum, and when that happens, they’re like, You actually listened to us? No one listens to them—they underestimate them, and they shouldn’t. They’re very talented. Some of them just have negative role models, and we’re positive role models. Regardless of what happened before, there is hope. There are other ways. You can get out—there are second chances.

Damaso: When you work with restorative practices, it’s more like trying to accommodate the students’ needs. Each kid has their own baggage. The instructors do need to be an ear, but also direct them into a safe space, to have them use that expression to do something physical, like a painting or a sculpture…teaching is awesome, but it’s a conversation. It’s back and forth. You’re teaching them something, but it’s a reflection. You’re seeing what they can teach you.

Joseph: I feel like the word transformative is overused, but I see the success in these students and I feel more successful as an educator. The breakthroughs that we make are sometimes as simple as giving them more self-esteem, and a sense of accomplishment, walking them through a project. Just leading them through that process, to me, is very rewarding, but I can actually see the fruits of that labor. I can see the way in which these experiences are important to them. For our students, it’s more than just a project. It’s an accomplishment and it’s a life skill.