Healing Through Art: An International Residency and Film Project
Phase 1 of a multi-year documentary + expansion initiative
This summer, our team has been invited to participate in a three-week artist residency in France to build out our program — a pivotal step in expanding our nonprofit’s work at the intersection of trauma healing, addiction recovery, and the performing arts.
During this residency, we will begin filming a documentary that traces my deeply personal journey: from heroin addiction and generational trauma to building transformative arts programs that serve incarcerated individuals and those rebuilding life after prison.
This documentary is not simply a personal story. It is a tool.
It will:
Reduce stigma around addiction and incarceration
Produce advocacy clips for prison and community outreach
Demonstrate the healing power of artistic expression
Support fundraising and expansion of our arts programs inside prisons
Offer hope to individuals seeking recovery and second chances
By documenting this work as it evolves internationally, we are positioning our nonprofit to reach wider audiences, build cross-cultural partnerships, and amplify the message that healing is possible.
We are raising $7,000 to cover:
Travel and residency costs
Documentary filming and initial production
Equipment and post-production planning
Documentation that will support grant applications and program expansion
Your support helps turn lived experience into collective healing.
We are seeking 7 founding supporters at the $1,000 level, or gifts of any amount, to help launch this next chapter.
This project will result in:
1 documentary trailer (within 3 months of residency)
2 short advocacy clips for prison and community outreach
1 residency-developed performance piece to share in our programs working with inmates
A public screening fundraiser event upon return
The most important part of operating as a nonprofit is that we be relevant in our community and that means working with all of YOU to make that happen. We have had an energetic response from the community already and are getting increased volunteer participation, which is wonderful, but it does take financial contributions to make our programs happen. Our work is a labor of love, and if we could do it for free, we would, but that’s simply not sustainable. So please know that anything you can contribute will support the programs we so love to offer. No amount is too small. It takes a village and we are only as strong as our most unfortunate. Together, let’s make our community healthier.