GREENSBORO, N.C. — The USA for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says since 1975, more than three million refugees have come to the United States.
What You Need To Know
- The National Library of Medicine says art helps express trauma and PTSD
- ArtQuest is providing an outlet for local refugee families through art
- For every annual membership purchased from ArtQuest until Jan. 31, one will be donated to a refugee family
Grecia Navarro is the program coordinator at Thriving at Three, a program through UNCG’s Center for New North Carolinians, helping close to 200 Latino immigrant children and families in Greensboro.
“I try to really form like an interpersonal relationship with our clients because I know being an immigrant and also being from a background that is from a low income and comes with a lot of disparities,” Navarro said.
Thriving at Three helps 35 families to reach their full potential as they adjust to their new life.
“And I try to make sure that I create an environment where she’s comfortable and feels safe to ask for anything or any of her needs,” Navarro said.
Narravo also helps the families communicate, such as translating for Yuliana Garcia Lopez, a refugee who immigrated from Mexico 10 years ago on a work visa.
“Ever since I started to form a family, I thought of the well-being of my family and decided to put them first. So I decided to stay here,” Navarro translated for Garcia Lopez.
Thriving at Three and UNCG’s CNNC have partnered with ArtQuest, a communal space at the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art, to provide a yearlong membership to a local refugee family for every annual membership purchased until the end of January.
“So whether they're sad or angry or happy, her daughters are able to express themselves in a form that's artistic and use their imagination,” said Navarro when translating for Garcia Lopez.
This is the second year of the fundraiser started by refugee Hashim Warren and his wife. Their church is matching the donations for the refugee memberships.
“As the son of an immigrant for Jamaica, I feel passionate about helping my new neighbors feel welcome in our city. When Alexandra and I thought back to when we first moved to Greensboro, we realized that taking our children to Green Hill helped us connect with other families and make new friends. We hope to enable that same experience for refugee families,” Warren said.
The National Library of Medicine says that making art provides a gateway to express feelings of trauma and PTSD.
“Art really helps further promote the growth to a child’s development as it helps figure out their discovery skills. It helps them with their social emotional skills, cognitive skills. So it’s much more than just having fun. It’s actually something that will help them in the long run and help them in their future success academically as well,” Navarro said.
Garcia Lopez and her family have participated in both years of the partnership, and she says it allows her daughters to express themselves through art.
“She says she’ll go another route [when driving] because her girls are so familiar with coming here, they come often and they love being here, so anytime they go past the building they go ‘I want to go to ArtQuest, I want to go to ArtQuest,’” said Navarro when translating for Garcia Lopez.
They're connecting to other refugee families without speaking the same language.
“So she said that that one thing that she would like to tell immigrants or refugees is that anything is possible and that you can do it,” Navarro said when translating for Garcia Lopez.
Garcia Lopez says she longed for opportunity in her own country and wants a better life for her children, and this program is helping her give that to her daughters.