Community Faces, an arts program to help children of war interact, is facing funding cuts.
Thirty children huddle together around beads, pom-poms and ribbon that litter the floor of the Centretown Community Health Centre. They’re making leaves to show the emotions they are feeling.
These children have moved to Canada from areas of conflict and many have experienced war trauma. Every Monday night, they meet to use art and play to overcome their trauma; something that has not been the norm in their past. But as a result of funding cuts, time for the program might be running out.
The program, called Community Faces, is designed to help children heal, and establish a sense of peace and a sense of community, says Christina Marchant, manager of community health promotion and early years at the centre.
Chitra Sekhar, Alison Eyre and Gay Nelson are the founders of the program and call themselves Peace Play Under the Mango Tree. They have worked overseas with children who have experienced war trauma in countries like Sri Lanka and they’ve used their experiences to start this program.
They began working together seven years ago developing the program for children age six to 12 to help them acquire peace building skills. The program has been offered in Centretown for the past three years but this year it is only being offered at the CCHC.
“The program is all about transitioning and giving them [children] their own space,” says Sekhar, a play therapy specialist.
Eyre, an art therapy specialist, agrees that the program is important for children
“It’s a time to shine without all of the heavy social hierarchy that school brings so quickly and gives them the confidence to go into that hierarchy and feel good,” she says.
But finding organizations to provide the funding for the project has become a challenge.
Marchant says organizations, such as the United Way and the City of Ottawa don’t want to donate to the project anymore.
They want the founders to preserve the program by finding a permanent home. But, the problem is most of the organizations in the city are already delivering programs to their max and don’t have the extra money.
“I hope it wouldn’t be the last time the program is offered but it all depends on funding,” says Eyre.
The program will run for 12 weeks this year after it received a $15,000 grant from the city.
“The program had a good reputation in the community and it is creative and innovative,” says Yolande Cremer, manager of community funding for the city.
Unfortunately, program funding is often only for one year, says Cremer.
“It’s not that they’re not needed, it’s just that our priority is for new projects.”
Marchant says she hopes the CCHC can adopt the program and create a partnership with an immigrant serving organization to sustain the program.