SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all of us in one way or another –physically, emotionally, socially, and financially. It is therapeutic for community members to reflect, process, and share with others, the impact of this global health crisis and its effects, and one of the most effective ways this can be accomplished is through the love, creativity, and communication of art. Enter the “Voices of Resilience” project.
With this in mind, the ACEs in Action, a group of community members and community service providers from northern Windham and southern Windsor counties have been meeting each month for a few years to promote education around adverse childhood experiences and building resilience.
“When the pandemic hit, we struggled about what we could do. There were so many other organizations sharing information, providing activity bags, and distributing food, and we didn’t want to duplicate those efforts,” Ellen Taetzsch said. Taetzsch works for an organization called Building Bright Futures and also contributes to ACEs in Action.
“We know the healing power of telling your story and also hearing other stories, so we thought that through a project we could provide a little relief to the community and a time capsule for future generations. We also wanted to make sure that people could express themselves in all sorts of ways such as drawing, video, poem, interview, and more.”
Building Bright Futures looks at how the system supports children and their families, and Taetzsch assists ACEs in Action as the point person for information and creating a subcommittee to work on the Voices of Resilience project. It is a collaborative effort between many organizations such as the Springfield Restorative Justice Program, Vermont’s Economic Services Division/Research UP, the Springfield School District, the Mount Ascutney Prevention Partnership, and more.
“This project brings together many partners to ensure that the community knows they are not alone and that together we can all make it through. I simply help to facilitate meetings and make sure that the information gets out to the people who are interested.”
Voices of Resilience is an ongoing project and recently received a $3,000 grant to help support the work. Submissions are still being accepted with a likely deadline scheduled for the spring. “Currently, we are only accepting submissions online due to Covid-19,” Taetzsch added.
“We will display all that we receive on our website as long as the material is original work and appropriate for all ages. Eventually, if Covid and funding is in our favor, we would love to display the artworks in towns and create a book of works to share as well.”
To learn more about the Voices of Resilience project and to submit your works, visit www.vtvoicesofresillience.org.