In Dallas, a group of kids are preparing to showcase the art and music they created as part of a different kind of summer camp.
Through the nonprofit Big Thought, children in the juvenile justice system spend weeks making art — and getting paid for it.
The organization's CEO Erin Offord told NTX Now's Miranda Suarez how this unique approach is helping a vulnerable population of kids.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To hear the full conversation, click the 'listen' button above.
What is the Creative Solutions program?
Creative Solutions is an arts-as-workforce intervention program for youth who have encountered the justice system. Offord says they've been offering this program for 30 years in partnership with the Dallas County Juvenile Services.
"People who are in the adjudicated probation system can do a work experience creative program in the summer for seven weeks," she said. "They are solving real life problems, they're changing their life, they're being creative in usually the visual art or performance track, and they're creating original pieces."
Along with creating art, Offord said the first few weeks of the program is spent in reflection.
"You actually don't jump into doing art," she said. "You actually learn more about yourself and learn more about the people that you'll be working with. So, a lot of reflection, getting to know each other [through] exercises that happen usually week one, week two."
Building life skills and getting paid
According to the Big Thought website, once a young person is convicted of a crime, the opportunity gap widens exponentially, making it even more difficult for youth to chart their own path.
Offord explained that many of the students come in lacking self-confidence and filled with self-doubt, but the structure and opportunity to build new life skills strengthens their self-assurance.
"There was one particular participant, the hat was down very low," she said. "First day, just really in bad spirits, and why am I here? I don't wanna be here. Then every day I'd come, you'd see the hat raise up high...and you saw a confidence build to where that particular participant at the end was the lead role in our actual performance."
Students enrolled in Creative Solutions get a stipend for the time they are putting toward their art. Offord says they get paid for showing up, but like the "real world," they get reprimanded for not.
"They get earnings every time they show up and have their product completed at the end of a day," she said. "They also have some guardrails that are up if they didn't show up on time, or if they have to sort of be docked to give them the real life experience of working."
End of summer showcase
Students are wrapping up their program, and gearing up for a showcase of their art. For some students, that is physical art like painting or drawings. For others, it's music and poetry.
"They're able to actually host their exhibit or gallery," Offord said. "They're really able to be a solid beacon of what successful creative outlets look like with their family, with their probation officer and with caring adults who really wanna see this great work. All of them rock stars according to us."
The Creative Solutions Showcase takes place Thursday, Aug. 6 at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Friday, Aug. 7 at 1:30 p.m. at the Dallas College North Lake Campus.
Miranda Suarez is a co-host of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
