ARTreach is a non-profit art group from Katy, Texas and as an outreach organization they have been developing innovative art programs and documenting positive results in the health and human service arena since 2004. For ARTreach, improving a person’s health and state of mind is not only a science; it is an A R T.  
 
The mission of ARTreach is to bring the arts to underserved communities including children at risk, special needs children and adults, and the elder population. The organization is responding to the growing population of senior citizens and developing new programs serving individuals with Alzheimer’s and residents in assisted living communities. These new programs are utilizing the arts to support health and recovery and promote a culture change in older adult services. The programs adopt a “person-centered” approach that acknowledges and respects long-term care residents and core person-directed values that include choice, dignity, respect, self-determination and purposeful living.  ARTreach pilots initiated this year are made possible by the Texas Commission on the Arts and new TCA Arts Respond Grants supporting Health and Human Services.
 
The work behind the ARTreach vision and mission is to increase the value proposition associated with the arts in general, and show how the fundamental value of the arts includes obvious health and educational benefits.  ARTreach Programs demonstrate just how key the arts are to education, mental health and well being. Their program successes are well documented in order to support new legislation and improved arts funding in the state of Texas.
 
The impact of an ARTreach Program is determined by improvements in grades, behavior and mental health indicators recorded during a pilot.  The impact of the ARTreach pilot supporting seniors in assisted living communities are being measured through a wide range of indicators including reductions in medications, fewer falls, improvements in behavior, and increased social interaction.
 
The new ARTreach Programs serving individuals with Alzheimer’s combine live music, piano, harp and/or acoustic guitar with dance motions and visual art projects to stimulate a creative process.  “We see memories triggered, personalities return, and marked improvements in our resident’s focus and ability to recall and retain instructions,” says Connie Benedict, Activities Director at The Forum at Memorial Woods, “The ARTreach programs support all our objectives devoted to meeting the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well being of our residents,” Benedict adds, “and we can see our residents’ quality of life enhanced by each art opportunity provided.”
 
At the conclusion of a pilot, ARTreach evaluates the program and determines which aspects had the highest positive impact, is it a specific tune, a particular color, a certain action or motion? There is technique related to a skilled artist’s delivery, and a combination of several art disciplines that act like a switch turning on the light  that connects to the creative process.
 
ARTreach from Katy, Texas is leading the way in developing the best art practices in the field of health and human services and education. ARTreach programs are recognized Statewide by the Texas Association for Partners in Education (TAPE), nationally recognized by the Americans for the Arts for featured programs serving at risk youth, and internationally recognized by the U.S. State Department’s Institute for International Education for encouraging minority participation in the arts.
 
The founders of ARTreach believe this work can and should be replicated. Quality art programs need to be available and more easily funded to support social service agencies and school districts in Texas.  The ARTreach website hosts archives that discuss over five years of pilots resulting in some of the best art practices designed for elder care, juveniles in detention, children in foster care or in residential treatment and suffering from anger and behavioral issue related to abuse or neglect . The work encompasses survivors of crime and catastrophe, drug rehabilitation, gang intervention, court diversion programs, afterschool clubs, safe haven programs for at risk youth, and life skills programs developed for children and adults with special needs. www.artreachonline.org