Creating the peace within: New anti-violence initiative seeks to heal with the arts
Alia Berry is creating spaces for peace and healing in Newark through her new event series -- Paint, Sip and Strategize. Building on her years as a community-based social worker, Berry sees art-based healing as a vital tool in the city’s anti-violence strategy. And with the support of her community partners, she seeks to create safe, therapeutic spaces where residents can explore their own sense of peace through art-based expression.
“In my experience, I have found that art helps folks to really express themselves in a way that words can’t. They’re able to express themselves through color, through theater, through poetry, through painting, through collages and vision boards, music, dance -- it helps people release the things inside them,” Berry said.
Berry, Principal Consultant of Seeds and Berries, who provides program development, national training and direct clinical services in schools, nonprofits and the government sector, piloted Paint, Sip and Strategize on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This day of service was a tribute to King’s lifetime of service and an opportunity for community members - specifically survivors of violence - to reflect on peace and examine what peace looks like in the community, what leading with peace looks like and how survivors of violence can work toward peace after exploring their own peace within.
The event featured a candlelight vigil to honor the victims of violence; a poetic interpretation of King’s “Drum Major” speech from Mia X, a local performer; a reenactment of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech by 10-year-old Ikenna Obikulu; a guided meditation; followed by painting, live violin playing and finally, a cathartic group roundtable.
“Everything was very intentional,” Berry said, especially the choice of her collaborative partners -- My Brother’s Keeper Newark (MBKN), an initiative of Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN); Newark Community Street Team; Elevate Newark; and Toby Sanders, Founder and Lead Teacher of Beloved Community - who each contributed to Berry’s plan.
“The things that the partners brought to the table only enhanced the vision that much more,” she said. NOYN provided the event space; Elevate Newark donated journals for people to manifest their visions; NCST helped with funding and Sanders supported the performance art process. All partners supported the recruitment efforts and brought their own words of wisdom to the facilitation.
“As a former member of the NOYN team, NOYN is always a part of my heart, my family, my work. The folks they serve [opportunity youth] are often survivors of violence and have their own traumas that need to be addressed and expressed using nontraditional approaches,” Berry said, “so once I knew who I wanted to serve through this event, I thought about NOYN and My Brother’s Keeper because that is who they serve, and serve well. They are gladiators of that work.”
Among the highlights of the day, Berry said she was most proud to “create an atmosphere for healing,” a space where people felt safe to express themselves. And though the partners and performers came to serve, she was most proud that they - themselves - were served. Whether it was the performances, the art exercise or the group conversation at the end, “everybody got what they needed,” she said.
“I’m super passionate about supporting providers and community leaders because we carry a lot in our work, so for community leaders to come to serve but end up being served -- that’s my heart’s desire - just for us to be a little more resilient for the next day,” she said.
Mark Comesañas, Executive Director of MBKN, said Berry’s peaceful approach was the right approach for violence prevention in Newark. “If we’re working on our individual peace, then taking that peace to our spheres of influence, that’s the right strategy,” he said. “At NOYN, we talk a lot about transformation beginning with the self, then the family, then the community. And Alia’s event drives home the necessity in cultivating peace within ourselves as a strategy to heal and build our community.”
Jacqueleen Bido, CEO of Elevate Newark, added “Above all, this event empowered participants to find value in their experiences - to become role models of peace within their families and their communities. At Elevate Newark, we believe in people and the power they hold within to change the world around them. It was an honor to have collaborated in this therapeutic method of empowering people to bring about peace in their lives.”
“At NCST, we believe in a system that invests in the healing of survivors in the community. Taking a moment to help the survivors in our community come together and support one another was powerful,” said Angelica Maury, Program Coordinator and Clinical Engagement Specialist at the Trauma Recovery Center. “Community members were able to benefit from listening to presentations, heal through art and music therapy, and find support. Trauma has a way of isolating survivors but this event helped the survivors learn that healing is capable and there is a community here to support them.”
Sanders added, “It was the violin for me. When Bri started playing, it was like medicine. And I just thought to myself, ‘Wow this is for me. This is for me.’ Took me repeating it a few times to permeate, but ultimately, the atmosphere of healing was indeed for me [which I wasn’t expecting when coming to serve].”
Berry hopes to do more of these events to help more community members process their trauma through art. Many individuals who inflict harm in the community are also survivors of violence, so according to Berry, finding the peace within has the power to transform Newark for the better.
Visit www.seedsandberries.com to contact Alia Berry, if you’re interested in bringing this experience to those you serve.