By Susan Parma | President
It has never occurred to me to say this in writing, but the reason we do not have photographs on this site of the children we work with - is because they are children - and frequently the Mothers themselves are legally children as well. I received a thoughtful question about this. Virtually all our work is with children in protective shelters - so we vigilantly guard them and their privacy. Not to do so would be to endanger them. So thank you for asking the question and giving us the opportunity to explain. We are always happy to discuss Dance to Live with anyone. My email is included in each report.
From our website - "Dance to Live! provides grants for expressive movement and dance therapy in memory of Michelle Parma. Our mission is to raise funds to support community programs that provide dance therapy as a means of expression, connection, co-operation, an outlet for emotion and a source of joy. Dance to Live uses dance therapy to connect beauty with one’s self." The previous sentence expresses what we accomplish at Nexus Recovery Center.
The adolescent girls we work with have already experienced poverty, dead-end education, hopelessness, drug addiction - and ever more frequently single motherhood. The children are housed at the residential shelter with their mothers and we have had an explosion of young children in our classes. Since most of these children are developmentally delayed (because of their home environment) we work with the school to tailor classes around what they are currently being taught. At this point, we are dividing our children's classes into two groups - the very young children and then the elementary age children. Their mothers all attend one adolescent movement class where lesson plans are coordinated with the counseling and educational staff and developed by Dance To Live to address their most pressing needs. Frequently that need is an alternate means of expression - some form of outlet for emotions other than words.
The environment which these girls and the children inhabit is so different from most of the lives we live. But Dance To Live can make a difference. They have come to Nexus for help - either through their own volition or court ordered. They will receive weeks of counseling with their children and peers, education and tutoring, and lots and lots of group work and play. We are proud to be part of that healing process and we very much thank you for your involvement in Dance To Live.
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