Statements
Mission
The mission of Healing Arts Project, Inc. (HAPI) is to provide artistic opportunities for persons mental health and addiction recovery to promote healing, community awareness and inclusion.
Background
Each year, 1 in 5 US adults will experience a mental health problem, and approximately 1 in 10 Americans over age 12 are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Despite these challenges, recovery from mental illness and substance abuse is possible with the right tools and support. Individuals in mental health and addiction recovery need empowerment to showcase their abilities rather than their disabilities. Research has shown that creative expression and artistic opportunities are highly effective in this regard. However, many individuals are low-income and cannot afford art classes or materials.
HAPI exists to fill this gap in recovery and rehabilitation services. We provide free art classes taught by professional artists, art exhibition and publication opportunities, and outreach and advocacy programs. These opportunities help participants express and externalize their personal struggles, building self-confidence and empowerment.
Originally founded as an awareness and advocacy group, HAPI's programs now fall into four categories. The first category includes programs that directly serve individuals in mental illness and addiction recovery through community art class participation and support for independent artists. The next three categories involve programs that educate the public and promote understanding, including the exhibition of participants' artworks at public venues across Tennessee. Outreach, where HAPI engages the community through tabling events at conferences, fairs, and vendor events, as well as presentations at local facilities to educate about HAPI services and the benefits of art for individuals in recovery. Lastly, HAPI's advocacy efforts, through initiatives like "Art for Awareness" and the "Arts and Advocacy Mini Conference," aim to increase awareness and reduce the stigma of mental health and addiction disorders.
HAPI is led by an African American female, supported by a team of 15 contracted staff, including a Marketing and Development Manager, three Program Coordinators, an Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator, and 10 contracted art teachers, five of whom are people of color. Since 2018, HAPI has grown significantly and now teaches at twenty-three community sites. With the support of individuals and organizations who generously give funds and time, HAPI can make a significant difference by providing enriching artistic opportunities to individuals in mental health and addiction recovery services.
Impact
Accomplishments: HAPI provides an artistic avenue for individuals in mental health and/or addiction recovery by offering artistic opportunities to individuals in recovery from a mental health and/or addiction disorder at a variety of peer centers, community mental health organizations (CMHA), and substance abuse treatment facilities across Tennessee. Through these services, HAPI enables participants to discover talent within themselves, express their feelings, develop self-respect, create new ways to cope and build on their artistic knowledge and skill.
In the fiscal year 2023-2024, HAPI began art classes in East Tennessee and is finding an East Tennessee coordinator to help further cultivate and facilitate artistic opportunities for those experiencing mental health and addiction issues. HAPI served 341 new artists in the 2023-2024 Fiscal Year, and 1,393 participants engaged in HAPI classes that included Middle, East, and West Tennessee. After each class series, HAPI teachers ask students to fill out a survey. The feedback demonstrates the impact art creation has on the student. HAPI conducted 206 classes, including the recently added drumming class at Park Center in Middle Tennessee. One student stated, "Creating art pulls you out of yourself. It makes you escape from the problems that surround and intrude on your life. Your abilities overcome your disabilities." Student survey results of HAPI's 2023 Fall classes reflect what these classes mean to a majority of the students, with an average of 93% responding positively and saying the class made a positive impact on their recovery, increased their knowledge of art techniques, helped them focus on the art instead of their illness, and made them feel more comfortable in social settings.
HAPI combats stigma, encouraging conversation and acceptance in the Middle Tennessee community through a variety of educational outreach efforts, including activities at community events, art exhibitions, and artistic and educational publications. In 2023-2024 Fiscal Year, HAPI curated and exhibited 915 artworks created by HAPI artists. These exhibitions were on display at multiple locations across Middle Tennessee and have been seen by over 15,000 individuals this year, with increased visibility in court settings (numbers came from exhibit venues and court clerks). HAPI also published 'Faith, Hope, and Recovery in Letters,' an annual collection of poems and personal essays by individuals in mental health and addiction recovery from across the state.
HAPI also achieved greater financial stability through grant funding from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS), Tennessee Art Commission (TAC), Metro Arts Commission (MNAC), Community Foundation of Middle TN (CFMT) and additionally, this year Tennessee Disability Small Grant program. The new grant and an increase from MNAC enabled HAPI to restructure the staffing pattern to fit the
organization's growth. HAPI's goal is to increase access to arts in underserved communities. HAPI will reach this goal by stabilizing existing services in the Middle TN region and cultivating the growth of services in the East and West TN regions. Especially in areas that have limited means of attending art classes. Including individuals faced with low income, people of color, young adults, underserved populations, and seniors.
Key goals are as follows: 1) Increase outreach to those communities that face disparities. 2) Further develop program evaluation methods and metrics. 3) Establish a more robust financial foundation through increased fundraising, especially individual donations. 4) Refine and solidify internal management policies and procedures.
Needs
To expand and cultivate its programs, HAPI needs an improved organizational structure as it transitions to a majority of full-time staff. Key needs include:
1. Technology Infrastructure:
Hardware: Devices like tablets or handheld clickers to count attendees at events.
Software: Tools for planning, organizing, and managing program aspects, including project management software, communication tools, and document storage solutions.
2. Community Partnerships:
Access to more public and community venues in Tennessee for exhibitions, outreach programs, and advocacy platforms.
Partnerships with local community centers, art galleries, and public event spaces are essential.
3. Administrative Operations Funding:
Financial support for administrative functions, including salaries for program coordinators and essential staff, to manage daily operations and strategic development.
4. Artistic Operations Funding:
Financial support for art materials and stipends for art teachers, ensuring quality art supplies and compensation for instructors.
Support from individuals and organizations will help HAPI build a stronger organizational structure, enhance technological capabilities, and expand community reach, empowering more individuals in mental health and addiction recovery.
CEO Statement
I have been associated with HAPI since 2005; I began as a supporter of HAPI. I really enjoyed viewing the art. Not only was the art healing to the person creating, but is healing to the viewer as well. On days that I needed to relieve stress, I would go to my co-worker's (one of the co-founders of HAPI) office and just admire the art she had hanging in her office. This is my beginning phase with HAPI, as the art that hung on her wall was created by people in recovery as a form to erase stigma. I supported HAPI for a few more years before being asked to join the board of the volunteer-run organization in 2011. I joined the board in 2012 and began the position as Board Chair in 2013, up until 2018, when I resigned and was selected for the Executive Director's position in 2018. My time with Healing Arts Project, Inc. HAPI has been beneficial. Since 2018, I've seen the personal impacts that the provision of artistic outlets has had on persons in mental health and addiction recovery. By offering an avenue to express their unique perspectives, our class participants have the opportunity to grow in personal facets as well as professional ones. Not only do our class participants develop self-actualization through their tactile participation in an array of artistic mediums, but they also develop it through exposure to multiple community events, in which they have the chance to further their professional skills, such as displaying and selling their art. As an African American leader, I have found that HAPI's arts participants tended to be a higher proportion of whites and lower proportions of non-white race/ethnic groups than expected. Therefore, I find myself challenged to overcome any and all inequities. As an organizational leader of color, I want our staff, board of directors, and community partners to be educated on racial inequalities, better understand as an ally, and look at what internal structures would prevent equity. Look to receive education about biases that impacts our philanthropic practices and would seek support and education from colleagues who are in the process of creating change within their organizations.
Board Chair Statement
HAPI is unique because we do not focus on traditional treatment but believe that healing and recovery can come from creative practices. This allows individuals to externalize emotions and feelings in a creative and expressive way that allows connection and self-expression, which can play a crucial role in health and recovery. Research shows that artistic opportunities can help individuals emotionally and mentally on several levels.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Mental Health & Crisis Intervention - Substance Abuse Dependency, Prevention & Treatment |
| Secondary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Visual Arts |
| Tertiary Category: | Mental Health & Crisis Intervention - Substance Abuse Dependency, Prevention & Treatment |
Areas Served
HAPI partners with mental health and addiction recovery center across Tennessee such as CMHA, substance abuse treatment facilities, and peer support centers to provide free art education, outreach, and advocacy to individuals in mental health and addiction recovery.
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Warren |
| TN - Lincoln |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Montgomery |
| TN - Bedford |
| TN - Coffee |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Rutherford |
| Statewide |
