CULTIVA
ART + HEALING PROGRAMS
Through Cultiva, Aliento creates spaces where healing and art intersect to build coping skills for those impacted by their immigration status. Cultiva offers arts and healing workshops, mental health resources, best practices content, and more. Our events ensure that the migrant community has a space to feel welcome and safe to share their experiences. Through our programs, we engage students and families to build a sense of community and use art as a tool for reflection and self-expression, transforming trauma into hope and action.
Arts + Healing Workshops
Since 2016, Aliento has provided arts and healing workshops for undocumented, DACAmented, and mixed-status youth. We host workshops at different schools across the valley, engaging students to build community, learn and practice coping skills, and create their own art pieces!
Our data-informed programming is designed to reduce stress and anxiety while increasing agency, resilience, and coping skills. Through these outcomes, we aim to support students' academic outcomes and overall well-being. Additionally, we engage parents and guardians to increase family engagement in school events, and we work with educators to provide resources and best practices when working with undocumented and mixed-status families.
School Partnerships
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Aliento partners with elementary schools to deliver programming centering students, parents, and practitioners. Our student fellowship focuses on building leadership skills and processing emotions through art. The yearly program culminates in an art gallery event at the school showcasing the students’ creative works and celebrating their progress and success.
In our six years of partnership with Eisenhower Center For Innovation, we have worked with almost 100 families. Throughout the years, we have seen improvements in students’ academics, school culture, teacher retention, and parent engagement.
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In the 2023-2024 school xq, Aliento provided workshops to 1041 students in Phoenix and Mesa high schools. Of all students who completed pre and post-surveys, 84% reported sustained or reduced levels of stress, and 82% reported sustained or reduced levels of anxiety. Our program has an 86% survey completion rate.
Aliento's approach is student-centered, and we work with teachers from different subject areas to align our program with curriculum standards. All workshop facilitators have IVP fingerprint clearance, and we have a current MOU in partnership with the Phoenix Union High School District.
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In addition to student workshops, we offer professional development presentations to school staff and teachers. Our presentations include immigration status definitions, demographic data, past and current policies, common lived experiences, resources, and best practices for working with mixed-immigration-status students and families.
Interested in bringing our workshops to your school?
Sign up for updates on our arts + healing workshops, open mics, and other mental health initiatives!
Aliento Open Mics
We host open mic nights for our community members, where we invite folks to share songs, poetry, stories, or anything else they would like to share that reflects their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Our open mics are a welcoming space free of judgment where everyone can express their truth, share or perform a piece of art of their choice, and be safe in the community. Additionally, we take part in small, reflective activities to help us connect deeply with ourselves and the people around us. These are typically related to the theme of the night.
Aliento Art Gallery
Aliento hosts an annual exhibition showcasing the art created by our participants and highlighting their stories. Participants of Aliento workshops share through familiar art forms the reality of their human emotions as undocumented, DACAmented, or members of mixed-status families.
At this annual fundraising event, students, teachers, families, volunteers, partners, and allies come together to celebrate our progress in building resilience, agency, and community!
Support Groups
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Support Groups *
Aliento removes barriers to mental health for undocumented, DACA-mented, and mixed-status youth and families. Our Virtual Sharing & Listening sessions are facilitated by a licensed therapist. We cover a variety of mental health topics that are important to the space and group.
