{"id":30375,"date":"2023-10-07T18:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-07T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=30375"},"modified":"2023-10-08T06:41:42","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T06:41:42","slug":"social-worker-supports-caregivers-with-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=30375","title":{"rendered":"Social worker supports caregivers with art"},"content":{"rendered":"

It might be a simple brushstroke to some, a fleeting touch of paint to canvas, but at Edward Hines Jr. VA<\/a>, Natalie Ho perceives it as a connection, a lifeline.<\/p>\n

As a social worker in Hines\u2019 Caregiver Support Program, she noticed a growing isolation among the program\u2019s 600 caregivers during the pandemic and wanted to find a way to help participants embrace their whole person and reconnect with themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think caregivers were some of the hardest hit people during the pandemic, since some caregivers tend to feel very isolated and struggle to engage in self-care,\u201d Ho said. She believes caregivers are often family, friends or neighbors shouldering the weight of ensuring loved ones remain comfortable and safe.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>
Single class expanded to four-week workshops<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Ho\u2019s diverse background, melding fine arts with social work, paved the way for an innovative response to this challenge: holding virtual creative arts workshops. \u201cI\u2019m really passionate about how art can be very healing for people. I\u2019ve always tried to incorporate art into my social work practice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Caregiver interest quickly grew and Ho expanded her idea through VA\u2019s Spark-Seed-Spread program, which provides VA employees funding and resources to innovate and improve experiences throughout the organization. Ho is completing Seed, a year-long project testing a fully functional prototype and developing resources and partnerships for her classes.<\/p>\n

These partnerships included various organizations that saw the benefit of helping caregivers. Help Heal Veterans donated knitting and dreamcatcher craft kits. The Illinois VFW Auxiliary provided a large donation of watercolor kits and the Wheaton Public Library donated magazines for art journaling. Hines VA\u2019s Whole Health program and other hospital services provided additional supplies. \u201cI can\u2019t thank all these programs and community partners enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to support you so you can care for your Veteran.\u201d<\/h2>\n

Over the past year, Ho has held virtual and in-person classes. Originally, her concept consisted of single class but expanded to four-week workshops. Watercolor painting is the most popular class.<\/p>\n

Caregiver Linda Kirby\u2019s experience illuminates the project\u2019s impact. Engaging in Ho\u2019s watercolor class, she found more than just an artistic outlet. \u201cThis class has been helpful. I\u2019d been trying to get back into art and now I have. It gives me time to immerse myself into something that isn\u2019t stressful for a while,\u201d Kirby said.<\/p>\n

For caregiver Mary Turner, the class became a shared canvas of expression with her husband. The couple discusses art they see throughout the day, including the medium and techniques. \u201cThe two of us get to share something together. It\u2019s opened up a whole different conversation,\u201d Turner said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to put on your own oxygen mask first before you put on the other person\u2019s,\u201d Ho said. \u201cYou must take time out for yourself because you\u2019re not going to be able to do this long term. You\u2019re going to get burned out. If it\u2019s not knitting, if it\u2019s not watercolor, that\u2019s fine. Whatever it is, we want to support you and connect with you so you can continue to care for the Veteran.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It might be a simple brushstroke to some, a fleeting touch of paint to canvas, but at Edward Hines Jr. VA, Natalie Ho perceives it as a connection, a lifeline. As a social worker in Hines\u2019 Caregiver Support Program, she noticed a growing isolation among the program\u2019s 600 caregivers during the pandemic and wanted to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":30377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[207,5,713],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caregiver","category-health","category-social-worker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30375"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30381,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30375\/revisions\/30381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}