Building Communities in Tense Times: Fostering Connectedness Between Cultures and Generations through Community Arts.

The worldwide upsurge in social polarizations generates intercommunity tensions that challenge the social fabric of urban neighborhoods and undermine the relationships between their members. Because community arts can foster the creation of connections between people that would not have been in contact otherwise, they are often perceived as being powerful tools to foster community resilience. Through a multiple case study approach, this article describes how three community arts projects, carried out in two socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods of Montreal (Canada), influenced the social relationships between participants from diverse ethnocultural backgrounds and generations. Using participant observation and arts-based data collection methods (photography, video, and arts productions), the authors examine how the three projects illustrate (a) the interactive processes at play, (b) the transmission and hybridization of stories and images of adversity and resiliency, and (c) the access to a collective voice.

Creative expression workshops as Psychological First Aid (PFA) for asylum-seeking children: An exploratory study in temporary shelters in Montreal.

BACKGROUND: Considering the growing number of asylum-seeking children worldwide, research on interventions which may buffer the effects of early resettlement conditions on asylum-seeking children's adjustment is warranted. In Canada, creative expressive workshops for asylum-seeking children and adolescents were implemented as a Psychological First Aid (PFA) intervention in temporary shelters. The present exploratory study aims to describe the implementation of these workshops to assess whether the intervention met core elements of PFA and explore its potential in supporting the diverse needs of asylum-seeking youth in temporary shelters, adopting a process-evaluation research approach. METHOD: The intervention was evaluated via a qualitative thematic analysis of extensive field and supervision notes and focus groups with facilitators. RESULTS: Preliminary results suggest that the intervention contributed to fostering emotional safety and a sense of normalcy in children and supported the creation of connections among both children and parents. Children's expression of past and present experiences during the workshops was seen as a way to promote self-efficacy in children and was reported as a potential way to provide some comfort and hope in a time of high instability. However, the high needs of children and the lack of resources in the temporary shelters represented significant challenges and barriers. CONCLUSIONS: PFA using creative expression may be a promising youth mental health prevention intervention in temporary shelters.