Release the Fear Final 2015-2016 National Endowment Report

NEA 2015-2016 REPORT Thank you National Endowment for the Arts and the Herberger Foundation For helping Arizona's youth Realize Our Hopes, Fears, and Most of All, Our Dreams...

RELEASE THE FEAR'S BRIDGING POSSIBILITIES =

Inspiring & empowering kids with the tools to make better life choices . . .

Thanks to the foresight National Endowment for the Arts

with matching funds from the Herberger Foundation. This the final report reflects how the arts through the Bridging Possibilities Program enlightened and enriched youth. This report reflects results from 221 young lives and what they experienced together through the "Bridging Possibilities" Character Education program. Demonstrating the power and importance of inspiring and empowering our youth with the essential tools so that they are able to make better life choices, find their gifts and know that they matter! Allowing them to lead a more meaningful productive life and become tomorrow's leaders in Arizona and around the world, for a brighter tomorrow for all.

W

hat: Release the Fear, a non-profit health and human services organization, teaches Arizona’s youth the

life skills needed to combat the effects of Peer Pressure, Gang involvement, Bullying, Abuse, and Violence in our society and to make better life choices. Release the Fear (RTF) has worked with thousands of at-risk youth and adults in Arizona and around the world, offering experiential programs that help reverse the paralyzing effects of fear and diminished self-worth. Our programs encourage youth to explore safe and healthy lifestyles and to overcome disabilities through the development of leadership and social skills through evidence-based curriculum that meets National Common Core standards. Arizona Department of Education, accredited Release the Fear program as a Character Education program

H

ow: These programs stimulate whole-brain thinking and develop metacognitive thought processing by utilizing new

applied-knowledge teaching methods. These programs demonstrate options that awaken a creative consciousness and expose the unlimited potential of critical thinking and problem solving to help participants develop better cognitive behavioral skills. Our trained facilitators guide participants through interactive creative activities and analytically explore the connectedness to their lives. Release the Fear utilizes inquiry-based learning experiences, an educational practice where the teacher/facilitator uses controlled questioning to serve as a learning guide in order to move students towards new understandings. Educational research shows that student retention increases when new learning is discovered through inquiry practices, as the student is able to take ownership of these findings. The teacher/facilitator must act as guide while being an expert questioner, thinking of the end objective at all times and posing questions to allow students to reach objectives on their own. When this is done, students are able to create new thought patterns which connect and build on their applied knowledge and personal life goals. Without these essential life skills, the still- maturing minds of detained youth view their future as bleak with no hope for a “normal” life.

A

pproach: Through experiential programs, we encourage participants to develop valuable core life skills, better critical

problem solving, and a healthy sense of understanding of self and others. Through the RTF programs, participants discover that anything is possible, that they have a purpose in life. They see why they do matter to the world, to the community, and most of all to themselves.

T

ransformation: The Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Office released a 2010 report demonstrating the value of

Inside Out Bridging Possibilities workshops on 357 of their juvenile population. Thirty percent of incarcerated youth recidivate—meaning three out of ten will again find themselves in conflict with law and society and back behind bars. For the incarcerated youth who participated in just one Release the Fear workshop, that recidivism figure dropped by 23 percent. For those who were able to benefit from multiple workshops, it dropped by 16 percent - nearly half. That is an impressive impact on any child’s future as well as the community in general..

Release the Fear, Inc. has worked with youth in Arizona and internationally, in such places as Guam and El Salvador, instilling positive life changes for thousands.

"It amazes me how each one of the individual campuses come from created different people from different backgrounds, different eccentricities. Yet we were able to come together and bring them together and create something beautiful as one understanding one masterpiece, almost like a metaphor for what we can do as a community,.. As a new world."

M .B. age 16

Thank You For Helping Us Realize Our Hopes, Fears, and Most of All, Our Dreams...

Comparison of Recidivism Rates of RTF Workshop Particpants to All Juveniles in ADJC Care 68% 70%

57%

60% 43% 50% 32%

40%

Recidivated No Recidivation

30% 20% 10%

0% ADJC Recidivism Average 2011 to 2013

Release the Fear Workshop Participants 2012 to 2015

Average of 450 - 500 Arizona youth per year have found themselves in secure care or behind the fence at Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC).

A three- year longitudinal study was conducted from 2012 to 2015 on 928 youth that participated in the Release the Fear program.

Above (left) percentages display the ADJC recidivism average from 2011-2013; The percentages on the right are based on youth who have attended one or more RTF Character Education “Bridging Possibilities� programs, either in secure care or while on parole within the community.

Together we can create an amazing New World...

Through Understanding of the Arts

RELEASE THE FEAR 2015-2016 RTF Pre/Post Survey Results

National Endowment for the Arts and the Herberger Foundation OVERALL PERCENTAGES for 12 Workshops 206 Students (12 BP Workshops) + 15 Students in final art collaboration =221 Male 54.4% Female 45.6% – Youth Ages 11-19

69.4% discovered something new about themselves 83.7% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 51.0% compared to Post 64.8% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 91.1% compared to Post 94.2% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

66.4% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

77.6% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

Individual Workshop Percentages 1. October 9-14 2015 Adobe Mountain Juvenile Detention Center: Unit Crossroads 14 Students (1 IO-BP Workshops) Male 100% Female 0% – Youth Ages 16-17 83% discovered something new about themselves 100% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 42% compared to Post 58% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 100% compared to Post 100% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

67% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

67% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

2. October 9-14 2015 Adobe Mountain Juvenile Detention Center: Unit Challenge 15 Students (1 IO-BP Workshops) Male 100% Female 0% – Youth Ages 16-17 93% discovered something new about themselves 100% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 86% compared to Post 93% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 87% compared to Post 100% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

79% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

71% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

3. October 21-23, 2015 Children’s First Academy 16 Students (1 IO-BP Workshops) Male 23% Female 77% – Youth Ages 13-15 44% discovered something new about themselves 75% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 38% compared to Post 63% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 88% compared to Post 94% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

88% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

69% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

4. November 17-19 2015 Sequoia Elementary School 17 Students (1 IO-BP Workshops) Male 56% Female 44% – Youth Ages 14-19 83% discovered something new about themselves 67% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 65% compared to Post 78% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 100% compared to Post 94% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

78% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

83% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

5. December 1-3, 2015 Adobe Mountain Juvenile Facility 6 Students (1 IO-BP Workshops) Male 100% Female 0% – Youth Ages 15-17 33% discovered something new about themselves 67% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 33% compared to Post 33% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 100% compared to Post 83% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

33% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

83% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

6. December 1-3, 2015 Adobe Mountain Juvenile Facility 19 Students (1 IO-BP Workshops) Male 0% Female 100% – Youth Ages 14-17 73% discovered something new about themselves 80% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 79% compared to Post 87% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 95% compared to Post 93% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

67% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

80% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

7. January 5-7, 2016 Florence Crittenton 27 Students (1 IO-BP Workshops) Male 0% Female 100% – Youth Ages 13-17 100% discovered something new about themselves 100% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 48% compared to Post 80% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 83% compared to Post 100% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

92% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

96% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

8. January 12-14, 2016 Children’s First Academy 11 Students (1 IO-BP Workshops) Male 45% Female 55% – Youth Ages 12-14 46% discovered something new about themselves 100% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 36% compared to Post 43% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 82% compared to Post 100% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

71% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

71% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

9. February 1-3, 2016 Adobe Mountain Juvenile Facility 15 Students (1 IO-BP Workshops) Male 100% Female 0% – Youth Ages 12-14 73% discovered something new about themselves 80% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 50% compared to Post 73% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 94% compared to Post 93% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

67% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

60% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

10. February 1-3, 2016 Adobe Mountain Juvenile Facility 16 Students (1 IO-BP Workshops) Male 100% Female 0% – Youth Ages 15-21 79% discovered something new about themselves 71% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 44% compared to Post 57% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 75% compared to Post 93% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

50% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

64% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

11. February 23-25, 2016 Kenilworth Elementary School 26 Students (1 IO-BP Workshops) Male 58% Female 42% – Youth Ages 12-13 69% discovered something new about themselves 85% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 77% compared to Post 88% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 96% compared to Post 100% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

92% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

96% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

12. February 23-25, 2016 Sullivan Elementary School 24 Students (1 IO-BP Workshops) Male 50% Female 50% – Youth Ages 11-14 96% discovered something new about themselves 100% discovered something new about classmates and friends.

Pre 67% compared to Post 79% realized that they are not alone in their fears.

Pre 88% compared to Post 100% realized that they can make their dreams a reality.

96% learned something to help them deal with bullying.

96% stated that they would do something if they saw someone being bullied.

For nine years, Release the Fear has had the opportunity to interact with over 8,500 troubled youth;these youth now know they have a life purpose. They know their wishes and dreams can come true. They know they are worth it and that they matter!

Our evidence-based curriculum has helped troubled kids in schools, jails, detention, and treatment centers. Through the creative processes of art, music, and communication, we teach kids cognitive behavioral skills to build self-esteem. They learn tools to help them succeed in school, conflict resolution, and to address peer pressure, and bullying.

Between the years 2007 and 2015, Release Fear has shown constant improvement upon youth’s pre- and post-reporting’s learned about perceptions of themselves. .

In addition, during the years of 2012 and 2015, Release the Fear has contributed to an overall improvement of youth’s self-reported willingness to assist another if bullied. Despite a decline of reported learning’s about proactive options to prevent being bullied, their learning consistently remained over 78 percent.

NEA 2015-2016 REPORT PROJECTED & ACTUALS Direct costs: TRAVEL (Include subsistence.) # of travelers From To 3 RTF Office, 302 W Monroe Phx. to Adobe Mountain Juvenile

Amount Actual 1,562

Artistic Director

7,480

Co-Facilitator

3,300

Statistical Data Administrator

1,650

Art & printed supplies / snacks

940

Recognition for Students, postage, community display and marketing

1,498

Internal Coordination, scheduling, and workshop preparation

2,800

Final / Mid Report

770

Two AZ Dept of Juvenile Corrections Officers in 7 workshops

224

Rent and Utilities at RTF art space for 5 workshops (15 days)

500

Volunteer Program Director at AZ Dept of Juvenile Corrections $18/hr Total other projected expenses-cash Total DIRECT COSTS with In-kind (9.+10.+11.)

882 $ 20,044 $ 21,606

IN-KIND (These same items also must be listed as direct costs under “Expenses� below so we can determine allow ability.)

Amount Two AZ Dept of Juvenile Corrections Officers at seven workshops at Adobe Facility

224

Rent and utilities at RTF art space for 5 workshops (15 days)

500

Volunteer Program Director at AZ Dept of Juvenile Corrections @ $18/hr X 7 hrs,

882

Total in-kind.

$ 1,606

Total MATCH for this project

$11,606

Total MATCH for this project. Be as specific as possible. Asterisk (*) those funds that are secured.

Herberger Family Foundation Matching Funds

$10,000

NEA Recommended Amount

$10,000

Thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts, & Herberger Foundation 14 young lives from Adobe Mountain Juvenile Detention Center experienced their Possibilities.

This workshop took place on October 9, 13, and 14, 2015 - # 1 of 12 Opening up possibilities for the young minds of Arizona’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.© “Bridging Possibility” workshops.

Through stories, activities and artwork, Release the Fear’s Workshops will help students to:

     

Draw One’s Fears and Awaken Hopes and Dreams Stimulate Creative Listening and Communication Bridge Understanding Discuss How Color Affects Us and Our Environment Senses Heighten Visual Awareness of Our Environment Turn Pain into Possibilities into Purpose.

The students are divided into groups or teams that they remain with throughout the workshop. In their small group, the students may be asked to complete an activity, to share responses, or to reflect on an exercise. Often times these groups can have students with different beliefs, various backgrounds, and even opposing gang affiliations.

The workshop will end with a group created painting to be displayed for the public.

Participant Responses Participants are asked to reflect on several of the activities and then share with the group.

These responses are written in their words without edit.

The following responses are from the students who range in ages from 16-17.

The students are asked to reflect on the following question: How do you think this activity could help you in your daily life (In School, Out of School, or In Your Career)?

Who am I? : We learned coping skills. Easier for you to deal with things. Makes you less judgemental. Because this will help people see who they really are. / Similarities. Look at people equally. People are the same. More respectful. / Being honest with everybody. Being honest with our teachers. I will speak my mind. It will eliminate the fear.

Creative story telling: Skills or Tools learned: Respect. You can get more in life showing respect. You treat people how you want to be treated. People will think more highly of you. /Respect. Respect others. Don’t bully because you respect people. Being respectful.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: Positive self talk. Being confident. Follow your own feelings. It helps you believe in yourself. / Loving yourself. Loving yourself is loving others. It helps with self respect. Instead of talking you like to listen.

Mirror Work: Look at Yourself in the eyes (ONLY) and tell yourself that you love or like yourself just the way you are. It makes me feel good. / I say that all the time. / I’m worth something. / I feel neutral. / Good because I have always felt that way. / Made me feel good. / I don’t feel any type of way.

Hero: Who is Your Hero and Why do you think are they important? What characteristics or qualities, would you or do you, look for in a Hero? Myself. Because I’ve got a lot of family that loves me. Killing and saving people. / My mom because no matter how many times I mess up she is always there. Because she never gives up on me. Loyalty. / We all help people. All the good kind. / My mom and dad and grandma. / My mom. They always care for us. Loving, responsibility. / I am important because I control my fate. I am confident, responsible, honest, handsome, athletic, strong, creative, and caring. I have been through a lot but have not given up on life. I strive for better.

Seeing Beyond: Listening skills, descriptive skills. Listening to your teachers. Being able to describe how you feel. / Being observant. Listen to the teacher in like all of classes, learn all you can in each subject. Because instead of talking all the time you can listen and learn more.

Drawing One’s Fears, Hopes, and Dreams and Sharing: Courage. You get up in front of the class and speak.

You stand up for your rights. I can stand up for things I believe in. You have to do stuff that you don’t want to do to be successful. To do stuff like study even if you don’t want to. To help the person who is getting bullied. To not be two-faced.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: To not give up because it will be worth it in the end. Because if you want an education, it takes education. Because if you want to be successful, you can not give up. / How to be optimistic. It can be applied so you don’t give up on hard things. You could always look at the positive sides of things.

Give an example of when you did listen to your inner voice. What was the result of listening and follow that intuition. I got locked up when I was all spun out but after a while when I came down I felt better about it because I needed to get clean. / When I got arrested I thought it was a negative. But then I realized it was a positive. / I had a class that I thought was bad because there was no girls and it ended up being good because I focused on class more and passed. / I got locked up this time but I have been making positives and one day I will finally be free from this wacky place. / I did not think before I made a few mistakes. I ended up getting sent to CSA. I hated it there but they really helped me look at life differently and helped me become more sure. They changed my mindset so my negative choices brought me to a positive place. / When I first got committed I was so upset I started to think about everything I missed, but then I realized where I was with my education and decided if I really wanted I would stop wasting time and go get it. Now I could say I will be graduating next month.

® Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Funded By: The National Endowment for the Arts & Herberger Foundation Date: October 9-14, 2015 Location: Adobe Mountain Juvenile Detention Center %Male 100

%Female 0

Ages 16-17

Do you think others (Kids my age, older & younger, Adults) have the same Fear as I do?

Pre %YES 42 %NO 58 %Other 0 Post %YES 67 %NO 33 %Other 0 Rate this statement: You feel comfortable speaking in front of others.

Pre % Not at all 7 % Sometimes 58 % All the Time 35 Post % Not at all 33 % Sometimes 50 % All the Time 17 Rate this statement: I believe I can make my hopes and/or dreams come true.

Pre % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 29 % All the Time 71 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 33 % All the Time 67 Rate this statement: I respect my own decisions even when dealing with peer pressure.

Pre % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 21 % All the Time 71 % No answer: 7 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 17 % All the Time 85 % No answer 0 Complete this statement: I am trustworthy and see myself as a __. Follower, Equal, Leader Pre % Follower 0 % Equal 21 % Leader 71 % No Answer 7 Post % Follower 0 % Equal 33 % Leader 67 % No answer 0 Have you ever been bullied? % Yes 58 % No 42 % No Answer 0 Have you ever seen someone being bullied? % Yes 93 % No 7 % No Answer 0 Did you do anything? % Yes 36 % No 43 % No Answer 21 Did you learn something in the workshop that will help you deal with bullying?

Post % Yes 67 % No 33 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: Stepping up and doing what you know is right. / To be courageous./ I learned character will help a person getting bullied. / I hate bullies.

After attending the character education workshop and learning about compassion, if you saw someone being bullied, would you do something?

Post % Yes 67 % No 33 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I would stop them. / None of my business. / I would beat up the bully. / I wouldn’t like that to happen bullying. / I catch fades.

Did you learn any skills, such as respect or responsibility, to help you make your own decisions not based on Peer Pressure?

Post % Yes 100 % No 0 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I honor my family values. / Knowing. / Step back and look at the bigger picture. / Be myself and forget everyone and their thoughts. /. I got confident. / Knowing.

What do you think about color?

What % gave more thought and shared them about color.

Pre 79% Post 67% Thoughts Shared: Pre: I think color represents things. / I think colors are pretty. / I think it represents a lot of things. / Color is enjoyable. / It’s nice and colorful. / It’s colorful. / Yes, it is nature. / It expresses certain things. / I think they are beautiful. / Colors are weird. / I think they are iridescent and they express feelings.

Post: They are good. / Color is cool. / That color represents things. / Music can give color to the music, color expresses feelings subliminally..

My most important hope or dream is. . .

What % gave more thought to their Dreams becoming reality.

Pre 100% Post 100% Thoughts Shared: Pre: To go to the military and come back alive to take care of my own family and to take care of me. / Do good in life. / To be successful. / Is to publish a book. / To become rich. / Be successful. / To get out of Adobe. / Go to college be successful. / To become successful. / To become a barber. / Is to be successful. / Navy Seal. / My most important hope or dream is to not go to prison. / To become something.

Post: Is to write a book. / To become a barber. / To make my mom have no worries. / To make mom happy. / To be successful. / To be successful.

One thing I learned in workshop that will help me reach my dream is: Post 100% discovered something new in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: To be confident. / Is to step back and look at the bigger picture. / To not give up. / Never give up. / To never give up. / Is to not give up.

Coming into the workshop, which Character Count did you want to improve or work on to help you? How did the workshop help you improve it?

Post 83% discovered something in the workshop to improve their Character Count.

Thoughts Shared: Yes, citizenship. / I have a better respect for myself. / Citizenship, it helped me realize good character. / Respect- learned to love yourself more and have self respect. / Responsibility, it helped because I was given homework to do and when I finished I was rewarded.

What did you learn New in the workshop about a classmate or friend?

Post 100% discovered something new about classmates or friends in the workshop Thoughts Shared: I learned what kind of careers they want to pursue. / There are trying to make it. / That nobody wants to die young. / Lots of them have been through the same things as me. / Be respectful. / They have talent.

Thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts & Herberger Foundation, 15 young lives from Adobe Mountain Juvenile Detention Center experienced their Possibilities.

This workshop took place on October 9 -14, 2015 - # 2 of 12 Opening up possibilities for the young minds of Arizona’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.© “Bridging Possibility” workshops.

Through stories, activities and artwork, Release the Fear’s Workshops will help students to:

     

Draw One’s Fears and Awaken Hopes and Dreams Stimulate Creative Listening and Communication Bridge Understanding Discuss How Color Affects Us and Our Environment Senses Heighten Visual Awareness of Our Environment Turn Pain into Possibilities into Purpose.

The students are divided into groups or teams that they remain with throughout the workshop. In their small group, the students may be asked to complete an activity, to share responses, or to reflect on an exercise. Often times these groups can have students with different beliefs, various backgrounds, and even opposing gang affiliations.

The workshop will end with a group created painting to be displayed for the public.

Participant Responses Participants are asked to reflect on several of the activities and then share with the group.

These responses are written in their words without edit.

The following responses are from the students who range in ages from 14-17.

The students are asked to reflect on the following question: How do you think this activity could help you in your daily life (In School, Out of School, or In Your Career)?

Who am I? : Don’t judge people by what you think, but by who they are. It would help your relationship with peers.

It would help you not to judge people. People would respect you. / Everybody has their own situation. You learn from it. Getting to know each other. Being open minded. / Self explain, acceptance, responsibility. Acceptance to change. Because we are accepted. Become a better person. / Delinquents, needing respect and responsibility.

Respecting the class. Respect enough not to judge. Mature, positive, new path.

Creative story telling: Better understanding. Go through with knowledge. Positive reaction. Give wisdom to understand. / Participation. Being active and getting involved. You shouldn’t be afraid to stand up for someone.

Being a leader. / Different ways to show different pillars. You can use the pillars in school. Showing bullies the right way. We can apply them in our everyday life. / Demonstrations are effective. Teaching peers. You can visualize the situation. You would experience that situation.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: Positive life skills. Give us a positive foundation. Give us positive leadership skills. Lead by example. / You learn from what you’re taught. You expose your learning. You teach them and help them. Have the ability to instruct others. / Realizing someone cares and loves us, and we all have a gift. Learning about other people. Think of your hero and character what would he do. By looking at our hero and see how far they went.

Mirror Work: Look at Yourself in the eyes (ONLY) and tell yourself that you love or like yourself just the way you are: It makes me feel complete. / It makes me feel good, alive, and someone important. / It makes me feel like I am somebody that is worth something important. / It makes me feel okay, sometimes I feel guilty. / I feel good about myself. Nothing new. / It makes me feel okay I guess, just a little guilty. / Makes me feel slid. / It makes me feel proud to be who I am. / The same. / Makes me feel proud of myself. / The same as I always feel. / I feel the same.

Hero: Who is Your Hero and Why do you think are they important? What characteristics or qualities, would you or do you, look for in a Hero? Spiderman, because he can shoot webs and climb tall buildings. Because he’s my hero.

Bravery. / Flash. Because he saves people with his speed. Bravery, courage, and patience. / My mother is a brave, positive leader. She is always happy and proud of me and herself. My mom is a hard worker and she sacrifices a lot for the (my) family. I love her. I think my hero is important because she sets an amazing example for me and she is very supportive towards me. I look for responsibility, discipline, honor, citizenship, forgiveness, caring, love leadership, hardworking, and etc in a hero./ My hero is superman. Because he saves the world and people. Bravery and courage. / My mother. She‘s the only who’s always there in my struggles. Bravery, faith, strength. / My dad is my hero he has always been there for me. He saved my life from where it was headed. He’s always there for me and always help me when I need it. / My grandma, she’s supportive. She is always there for me. Because she never let me down. She’s lovable, protective, supportive. She’s always there for me. / Drake. Because e changed society with his tap and he’s very talented. Respect, caring, loyal, trustworthy, faithful. / My hero/ role model is my Tio. Motivated, confident, responsible, determined, respected. They are important because these traits can lead you to success happy future and a good life. Leadership. / My mom. Because she does everything for me and be there when most needed. Their motivation to succeed and how their life impacted them to be great. / My hero is my mom because she does everything for me. There for me when I am down and supports me when most time needed. Because she raised me and without her I wouldn’t be here. The past and the future see where their background was basically someone like me who has been through a lot but still made it out. / My hero is my godfather. The reason he’s my hero is because I can relate to him. He’s been through the same situation I have. He’s been through probation, violated probation, and been locked up. He also knows the situation I’m in. I can trust him with anything and it will always just be between the two of us. My godfather was able to change and get his life straight. All he wants me to do is get my life straight together also so I can live a better life like him. He’s important to me because I can tell him anything and he never will judge me. He is always able to give positive feedback and help me in any bad situation I’m in. I look for someone who doesn’t smoke, non -alcoholic, plays video games, loves to help, who doesn’t judge and someone who plays sports. All those are what my godfather has.

Through the Hoops: Skills or Tools Learned: By learning how to work together. By listening and caring about other people. By stepping up and stopping the situation. By working as a team and enjoy work as a team. / Nonverbal communication. / Nonverbal communication and cooperation. Communicating. Talking out problems.

Communicating understanding. / Learn other behavior. What you see is what you learn. See someone standing up for someone, you do too. What you see you apply to your behavior.

Seeing Beyond: To be patient use critical thinking. Help in math and English because you need to critically think when writing and patience to solve a problem. Allows a person to think when doing something and be a patient person. / How to be patient and be open-minded. By being critical and working as a team and the subject science.

It would help build respect and caring and learn how to ask questions and not being afraid to speak in public. / Work with what you are given. All subjects especially math, psychology, science. Because you’re given problems without solutions. Build problem solving.

Drawing One’s Fears, Hopes, and Dreams and Sharing: That you can always dream big. Learning to apply the skills to be who you are and who you want to be. Inspiration. Positive influence. / People have different dreams, fears. Some people are scared in school. It helps understand different people. It can help to better learn about others. / Being open-minded to your fears. Knowing what you fear and preventing it from happening. It would help by standing up for someone. It would help me with my fear.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: How to care for others and be myself. To help others. Help build caring. / It’s good to be caring and trustworthy. To be helpful to others/ peers and have trust. So people may trust you. / Realize that I’m capable of greatness. Build character traits. Build positive attitude Write about a time you were trustworthy or caring and helped someone else in a positive way. How did it feel afterward? Describe the experience below: A time when I was trustworthy or caring was when I was called in on my day off work I showed that I am dependable and that they can trust me to get the job done. / I remember when my mom trusted me to take my little brother’s to the park and we had fun. / Helping a friend who fell off the house. It felt good. / I helped an older lady. I picked up her stuff that she dropped in the street. / I helped someone when they fell I felt normal afterwards. / When I helped an old lady bring in her groceries to her floor and it felt fabulous. / I helped someone when they fell and felt the same afterwards. / I cared about my homie and told him not to go somewhere, when I knew something bad was going to happen. It felt good. / A time I was caring was when a friend wanted to drink water and I let him go ahead of me. / When my mom asked me to take care of my little brother overnight and I ended up doing a good job. It felt good at the time. / My mom asking me to help her clean the house every day and to cook food. I felt happy, proud, and supported. I was cleaning the whole house inside and outside and made breakfast, lunch, and dinner for her and my brother instead of her doing it. / I helped my best friend out when she wanted to kill herself. No one really understood what she was going through but I did.

I told her that it’s not worth it and that all her friends and family would miss her especially me. I also gave her a necklace as a gift just to show her how much she really means to me. She was able to stop thinking about the worst and four years later she still has the necklace and still wears it today.

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Funded By: The National Endowment for the Arts & Herberger Foundation Date: October 9-14, 2015 Location: Adobe Mountain Juvenile Detention Center %Male 100

%Female 0

Ages 14-17

Do you think others (Kids my age, older & younger, Adults) have the same Fear as I do?

Pre %YES 86 %NO 14 %Other 0 Post %YES 93 %NO 7 %Other 0 Rate this statement: You feel comfortable speaking in front of others.

Pre % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 86 % All the Time 7 % No answer 7 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 58 % All the Time 42 % No answer 0 Rate this statement: I believe I can make my hopes and/or dreams come true.

Pre % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 33 % All the Time 67 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 21 % All the Time 79 Rate this statement: I respect my own decisions even when dealing with peer pressure.

Pre % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 46 % All the Time 46 % No answer: 8 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 36 % All the Time 64 % No answer 0 Complete this statement: I am trustworthy and see myself as a __. Follower, Equal, Leader Pre % Follower 0 % Equal 53 % Leader 47 Post % Follower 0 % Equal 29 % Leader 71 Have you ever been bullied? % Yes 33 % No 40 % No Answer 27 Have you ever seen someone being bullied? % Yes 100 % No 0 % No Answer 0 Did you do anything? % Yes 21 % No 73 % No Answer 0 Did you learn something in the workshop that will help you deal with bullying?

Post % Yes 79 % No 21 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: Always stand up for yourself. / Always. / Because I never deal with bullying myself. / Protect. / Speaking up. / That I am beautiful. / Respecting others as you would want. / To be open-minded. / Stand up for it. / Tell someone. / Understanding others.

After attending the character education workshop and learning about compassion, if you saw someone being bullied, would you do something?

Post % Yes 71 % No 29 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: Fight them. / Help them. / Stand up for them. / Because I know how they feel. / It can make a difference between them. / Because everyone is equal and should be treated the same. / It’s not my business. / Yes, because I would not like to be bullied. / Yes, because I care about people and emotions.

Did you learn any skills, such as respect or responsibility, to help you make your own decisions not based on Peer Pressure?

Post % Yes 57 % No 43 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I’ve always made my own decisions. / Respect to work with others. / I learned to respect other’s beliefs and thoughts. / To know I can trust and to be trusted. / It shows that you know yourself and who you are. / Respect and caring.

What do you think about color?

What % gave more thought and shared them about color.

Pre 87% Post 86% Thoughts Shared: Pre: Color is beautiful. / It is a color. / I like green. / I never thought about it. / It’s nice. / Gangs. / Color is mood changing. / I think that color is one of the most important things that exist. / I think it describes about how you feel it and like becoming change your attitude. / Everyone equal. / Gangs and movie colors. / No I haven’t. / Every color has its own purpose in life or a person’s life.

Post: It’s more than just seeing. / That color can mean a lot in music and emotions. / That it is a beautiful thing. / Words can have color. / That color represents you. / It’s cool. / Gangs. / Color is an emotion. / It has a lot of meanings. / Everything has color. / They are colorful. / I think color is amazing and unique. Color is in everything.

My most important hope or dream is. . .

What % gave more thought to their Dreams becoming reality.

Pre 87% Post 100% Thoughts Shared: Pre: To go to the NBA. / I want to be a professional soccer player, and be the best one. / I don’t have a dream. / I don’t have a dream that is appropriate. / To own five or more houses by the time I am thirty. / Is to play college ball and get drafted. / To become a pilot. / Is to become a NFL player. / A model photographer. / Get out of my situation. / To become a bio-engineer and helping to make the world a better place. / A machinist, proud business owner. / Is to graduate high school and become the first graduate in the family.

Post: Is to be a commercial pilot. / Make them come true. / Being rich /To own an ac business / Be a positive role model. / To stay out of jail. / Make it. / To be a better person in life. / Is to become rich. / Stay out of the system. / Is to become someone important in life. / To become something in life. / To be a model photographer and own my own business. / To provide for my family and have my own business.

One thing I learned in workshop that will help me reach my dream is: Post 93% discovered something new in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: Always have good communication skills. / To be a leader and responsible. / Is to respect other’s opinion or attitude. / To think before acting. / That everything I do can help affect my dreams. / To use my feet. / Put my mind to it. / School. / Nothing. / Be a positive role model. / To be open-minded. / To be a positive leader and have discipline, responsibility. / Expressing myself. / Respect.

Coming into the workshop, which Character Count did you want to improve or work on to help you? How did the workshop help you improve it?

Post 93% discovered something in the workshop to improve their Character Count.

Thoughts Shared: Expressing myself. / Nothing new. / It made me think more. / Helped me be open-minded. / Mom family. / It’s fun here. / Work with people. / Respect, responsibility. / Mine was to be trustworthy and yes they did. / To be a leader. / Citizenship I can work or move and worship helped me to understand that citizenship takes responsibility. / Working with others because I respected their opinion.

What did you learn New in the workshop about a classmate or friend?

Post 100% discovered something new about classmates or friends in the workshop Thoughts Shared: Everyone is always helpful. / That they all have different mind sets and inside they are caring. / That some have the same fears as others do. / That they all have goals and dreams. / They all express themselves and someone always has been worse than you. / We all go through different things. / That they feel what I feel. / Work as a team. / Work together. / Everybody has different thoughts. / That we all have fears. / That they care. / I learned about myself. / We are all different.

RELEASE THE FEAR, Inc Release the Fear, Inc.

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PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

We learned sometimes you have to go through a few hoops to achieve your Dreams. . .

Thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts & Herberger Foundation, 16 young lives from Children’s First Academy experienced their Possibilities.

This workshop took place on October 21-23, 2015 - # 3 of 12 Opening up possibilities for the young minds of Arizona’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.© “Bridging Possibility” workshops.

Through stories, activities and artwork, Release the Fear’s Workshops will help students to:

      

Draw One’s Fears and Awaken Hopes and Dreams Stimulate Creative Listening and Communication Bridge Understanding Discuss How Color Affects Us and Our Environment Awaken Senses Heighten Visual Awareness of Our Environment Turn Pain into Possibilities into Purpose.

The students are divided into groups or teams that they remain with throughout the workshop. In their small group, the students may be asked to complete an activity, to share responses, or to reflect on an exercise. Often times these groups can have students with different beliefs, various backgrounds, and even opposing gang affiliations.

The workshop will end with a group created painting to be displayed for the public.

Participant Responses Participants are asked to reflect on several of the activities and then share with the group.

These responses are written in their words without edit.

The following responses are from the students who range in ages from 13-15.

The students are asked to reflect on the following question: How do you think this activity could help you in your daily life (In School, Out of School, or In Your Career)?

Who am I? : Because we learn by our mistakes. / By changing our mistakes to a non-mistake. By the ones we cherished. It raises our confidence and bravery. / Learned new things about others. To know each other. By having more friends. Going to help you achieve your dreams. / People have the same fears. We could be our self. Don’t assume. Not pre-judging. / To get to know people, being respectful. It’s not about what you know it’s about who you know. Getting to know people. You’re going to make more friends.

Creative Storytelling: Teamwork. It can make your friendship grow stronger. The team can help the victim. Try to ask for help. / We learned citizenship. Keeping the school clean. Being kind. / To be clear on each other’s thoughts. Set an example for others. You’ll be leaders. They’ll look up to you. Make us a better person in the future. / To speak up. Respect, show others how to act. It will speak up to bullying. Speaking up to things.

Through the Hoops: Trustworthiness and teamwork. To trust into your friends and gain more teamwork. Your friends can help you and your team will back you up. Trust the one who’s been there for you and team up with that person. / Teamwork, working together, working on assignments. We can stand up to the bully. So you know there’s someone there for you. / Teamwork. Being able to depend on each other. Being there for anyone and everyone. People will come to you for help. / To help each other when in need. To help with the work. Helping them out. By having trustworthy in each other.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: To be more confident to ourselves and others. By not being shy. By standing up for yourself. Gains more citizenship. / To be a role model. To set a good example. So you would know the consequences. Being confident. / I learned to like myself. To not care when other’s judge you. It will make you feel better. Make me more confident. / Everybody’s perfect in their own ways. To be confident in their selfs. By following your intuition. Because you know what you want.

Mirror Work: Look at Yourself in the eyes (ONLY) and tell yourself that you love or like yourself just the way you are. Super cute, fire. / It makes me feel lucky to be so cute and not be bullied for not perfection. / Happy, amazing. / Normal, happy, proud. / It make me feel like I’m not alone. / I makes me feel more confident about myself. / Ok and amazing. / It make me feel good about myself. / Pretty, cool, happy, and awesome. / More confident. / It feels weird because I only look at myself in the mirror at home and everyone going to be watching me and that’s weird. / It makes me feel good but then again not so good cause its weird. / Happy, proud, overwhelmed. / Normal, but I still love it, the look on my face. / It makes me feel great about myself. / Confident, calm, and refreshed. / Pretty cool. I feel happy.

Hero: Who is Your Hero and Why do you think are they important?

Someone I look up to is my brother Curley. I look up to my brother Curley because when you ask him to do something he does it. And he plays basketball really good and he can teach me how to play basketball. / Superman, mom, and big brother. Because my big brother and my mom are my role model and superman to me he saves the world. Positive role model, well mannered, and well educated. / My heroes are my big brother and batman. They are important to me because batman is awesome and cute and my brother is important because he’s family and I love him. Honest, awesome, smart, helpful, nice, caring, lovable. / Because he’s my teacher and he teaches me. / My uncle respects all my decisions good or bad. He is important because he’s my only male role model. / My cousin. Because he’s always helping me with stuff. / My brother CJ. Whenever I need help with something he always helps me. Respect, honest, truthfulness. / My mom. She has a big input and output on me. She tells me to do the right thing that are good. She hope for the goodest thing. She is important me she love me. The way that I love her. / His name is Natsu. He’s my favorite hero because he says confidential quotes to the enemy who fall in darkness and if can inspire everyone. Because he’s a good person, and he’s comfortable the way he is. / My mommy. She is the best and she brought me into the world and she is the only one who can take me out of this world. Because I love her and she the best. / Super mom because she is there for me. / They’re my hero. Their cool and important. / My mom and batman. She’s awesome and she’s always there for me!. / I think that my mom is my hero. Because she always stays positive when things go bad. Because my mom has always been there for me through everything and she provides me with everything that I need. / My mom. She’s my support system. Leadership, kindness, responsibility and independent. / My mommy because they support me. / My mom is my hero. Because she’s a role model to me. / Because she helps me with everything.

Seeing Beyond: Creativity and using you third eye. Thinking outside the box – almost every subject. To find a way to always be active. / Used third eye and background knowledge. It might help you with writing. Make you a better person. / To use the third eye. To be cooperative because that’s important. To use your senses. / Communication. It helps others to talk about things and figuring what question answers are. You can be more confident to speak in front of everyone.

Drawing One’s Fears, Hopes, and Dreams and Sharing: We have a lot in common. To be more opened to everything. You might have the same flaw. Not underestimating people. / We have something in common. To get to know each other better. Not to judge each other. To respect others. / How to help others. Everybody is different. Just to share your feelings. By helping others with their dream, hope, fear.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: Describe a time when you had an experience that you perceived (thought/saw) as negative, but through time or something you did, you perceived (thought/saw) the experience as a positive one. Draw on the other side of paper, a picture of how you felt about this experience. Draw how you felt at the beginning and how you felt when the change took place. Then, write about it. I go in argument with my friend then we worked it out. / When I got in trouble in school I change to a positive attitude. / When I had to go to my step moms house but then when I got there me and her family all got along. / When I went to church I saw my mom was happy. / When I was mad at my boyfriend was mad at me which was the negative but I turned that negative to positive. / I get in trouble on purpose so that I get two tally marks then it helps me be good so I don’t get a referral. / It felt good and confused. / When me and my sister were fighting for a bag of chips so I change my mind so I gave it to her. / When I was at the state fair, I was mad because I couldn’t go on a ride but then cheered up and had fun. / Got in trouble for something bad. / I thought it was going to be extremely boring but it’s not. / I thought the program Release the Fear was going to be really boring but now that I’m in the program it’s not that boring.

RELEASE THE FEAR, Inc

®

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Funded By: The National Endowment for the Arts & Herberger Foundation Dates: October 22-23, 2015 Location: Children’s First Academy %Male 23

%Female 77

Ages 13-15

Do you think others (Kids my age, older & younger, Adults) have the same Fear as I do?

Pre %YES 64 %NO 62 %Other 0 Post %YES 63 %NO 31 %Other 6 Rate this statement: You feel comfortable speaking in front of others.

Pre % Not at all 56 % Sometimes 31 % All the Time 12 Post % Not at all 56 % Sometimes 38 % All the Time 6 Rate this statement: I believe I can make my hopes and/or dreams come true.

Pre % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 25 % All the Time 75 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 31 % All the Time 69 Rate this statement: I respect my own decisions even when dealing with peer pressure.

Pre % Not at all 6 % Sometimes 69 % All the Time 25 Post % Not at all 12 % Sometimes 63 % All the Time 25 Complete this statement: I am trustworthy and see myself as a __. Follower, Equal, Leader Pre % Follower 0 % Equal 31 % Leader 63 %Other 6 Post % Follower 0 % Equal 19 % Leader 81 %Other 0 Have you ever been bullied? % Yes 44 % No 56 % No Answer 0 Have you ever seen someone being bullied? % Yes 69 % No 31 % No Answer 0 Did you do anything? % Yes 37 % No 51 % No Answer 12 Did you learn something in the workshop that will help you deal with bullying?

Post % Yes 43 % No 38 % No Answer 19 Thoughts Shared: To speak up. / Never give up. / Because I learned how to stand up to bullies. / Learning the bully’s fear. / To stand up and speak up. / T tell n adult. / Never give up. / Tell an adult. / I learned about leadership. / I always knew. / I learned to respect other students. / Helping. / Learning about each other. / Yes, to never bully anyone and always help someone that’s getting bullied. / I don’t know I don’t deal with it. / Because bulling isn’t a thing I get into.

After attending the character education workshop and learning about compassion, if you saw someone being bullied, would you do something?

Post % Yes 88 % No 12 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I always have. / Because I don’t get into problems. / I tell a teacher or an adult. / I would help the victim. / I would stop it and tell an adult. / I will stand up to the bully. / Because I don’t like seeing someone be mean. / I would help the victim. / I would definitely stand up for others. / I will tell the teacher. / Yes, I’d tell an adult. / Tell a teacher or help (no fighting). / I would tell them to stop and tell an adult. / I would tell a teacher or an adult. / I am. / I would tell an adult. / I would stick up for the person being bullied.

Did you learn any skills, such as respect or responsibility, to help you make your own decisions not based on Peer Pressure?

Post % Yes 88 % No 12 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I already knew. / To be more confident and share your ideas. / Not being afraid. / By talking in front of the class. / I learned that I need to respect others. / I don’t know to explain. / I don’t know. / Yes, because it makes me feel confident. / To be confident. / Learn how to deal with peer pressure. / Not to believe in the peer pressure. / Yes, don’t listen to other people that peer pressure you. / Peer pressure is not a thing I never got into. / Yes, it help me build character. / I don’t know. / Maybe I don’t remember but they did mention it.

What do you think about color?

What % gave more thought and shared them about color.

Pre 56% Post 94% Thoughts Shared: Pre: I have not thought about color. / Color is important. / I think color are cool mostly blue. / Yes I have and I love colors so much. / A race. / Beautiful. / Beautiful and favorite color. / Some are pretty I guess? I don’t know. / There all different but unique. / Nope. / Colors of your true self. / No we are all the same. / No because people shouldn’t be judged by their color. / I think color is beautiful because there is colors all around me. / I’m not sure. / I have no problem about color.

Post: Color has it’s own beat. / Color has sound. / It has sound. / Race. / Color has sound. / Art. / I think its awesome. / Its ok. / The same. / Its amazing. / Color is like music. / No one should be judged by it. / I think they are pretty. / Pink cuz its cute. / I really don’t care about color everybody is the same. / Pink and red.

My most important hope or dream is. . .

What % gave more thought to their Dreams becoming reality.

Pre 88% Post 94% Thoughts Shared: Pre: I don’t have a most important dream. / Is to be better in life. / To reach my goal. / My most important dream is to last with my babe. / My dream is to be successful. / Make my mom proud, finish school, and eventually have a family of my own. / Be successful and finish school. / To become successful in life. / To make my mom proud. / Is to help my mother. / My most important hope is to go to ASU. / Is to finish school. / My most important dream is to go to college. / Is to have a good career for the future. / No I don’t have an important dream. / I have a dream. My dream is to help people who live in the streets. / FBI agent. / To finish school. / My hope and dream is to be successful.

Post: To play in the NBA/football. / To become a Navy Seal. / To be rich. / FBI Agent. / Is to finish school. / My most important dream is to make my grandma happy. / Is being there for people. / Helping people. / Hope, without it you couldn’t make your dream come true. / Is to be a respectful person. / To be a vet. / Is to be a lawyer. / Get married. / To have a good career. / Is to go to college.

One thing I learned in workshop that will help me reach my dream is: Post 88% discovered something new in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: Respect each other and get to know people. / Respect and trustworthiness will make an impact. / To be yourself. / Dedication. / To respectful to others. / Is ok to see and what I need. / Hope. / To be fair. / Is by don’t be a bully. / To treat others with respect. / Respect. / Pay attention in class more often. / To learn about others.

Coming into the workshop, which Character Count did you want to improve or work on to help you? How did the workshop help you improve it?

Post 44% discovered something in the workshop to improve their Character Count.

Thoughts Shared: IDK. / Respect would be the most that I wanted to improve. By making me stay quiet and listening to others. / Dedication, focusing. / Is to speak in front of my class. / IDK / Respect. / Citizenship by teaching me to respect others. / Respect. / By talking.

What did you learn New in the workshop about a classmate or friend?

Post 75% discovered something new about classmates or friends in the workshop Thoughts Shared: That they almost have the same thing as me. / That Jesurita has a calm side. / That I’m not alone. / We all have different fears. / That we have the same thing in common. / We are alike. / Everyone is scared of something. / That we all have a lot in common. / That they have the same problems as me. / I found out that me and my friend have the same thing in common. / Yes how they have the same fear.

Thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts, & Herberger Foundation 18 young lives from Sequoia Elementary School experienced their Possibilities.

This workshop took place on November 17-19, 2015 - # 4 of 12 Opening up possibilities for the young minds of Arizona’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.© “Bridging Possibility” workshops.

Through stories, activities and artwork, Release the Fear’s Workshops will help students to:

     

Draw One’s Fears and Awaken Hopes and Dreams Stimulate Creative Listening and Communication Bridge Understanding Discuss How Color Affects Us and Our Environment Senses Heighten Visual Awareness of Our Environment Turn Pain into Possibilities into Purpose.

The students are divided into groups or teams that they remain with throughout the workshop. In their small group, the students may be asked to complete an activity, to share responses, or to reflect on an exercise. Often times these groups can have students with different beliefs, various backgrounds, and even opposing gang affiliations.

The workshop will end with a group created painting to be displayed for the public.

Participant Responses Participants are asked to reflect on several of the activities and then share with the group.

These responses are written in their words without edit.

The following responses are from the students who range in ages from 14-19.

The students are asked to reflect on the following question: How do you think this activity could help you in your daily life (In School, Out of School, or In Your Career)?

Who am I? : Pay attention. Ask questions. That we know each other. You can make more friends. / Earth. To support others. Ask many questions. Be good person without judging them. / To know who we are to each other.

To hang out and know each other. To say nothing. To support and know our identity. / Manners. Show respect to teachers. By not assuming and getting to know them. Being more caring to others.

Creative story telling: Teamwork, respect each other’s opinion. More unity with students. By knowing the how they feel or respect. Help them not feel alone./ To develop school writing and skills. We would tell them to stop or tell the principal. / Bullying. Reduce the bullying. Talk to friends or adults. Tell them to stop it’s not right. Treat them right. Respect / We learned the story telling represents words. To make school and students respect, caring, worth to all friends. / To know respect, caring, trustworthiness, citizenship, responsibility, and fairness. To know what is the right or wrong thing to do.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: Self-confidence. Boost self-esteem. Feel confident with work. Knowing what’s best for ourselves. Not scared to do something new. / To love myself. To know who we are and our flaws.

To stand myself up and know and respect others. Confidence. / Reflective. Feeling welcome, having friends. Feel positive attitude by influence and chatting. / Mirror. To let people know we’re cute. It helps you know who you are.

It helps you to be a better person.

Mirror Work: Look at Yourself in the eyes (ONLY) and tell yourself that you love or like yourself just the way you are: I don’t know, weird? / Sad. Knowing I’m not happy the way I look it’s hard for me to say that. / Angry, hate, lame, no love feeling. / I feel like six. Some days I don’t like myself and some days I do like myself. But I know that my lips are perfect. / I look at the mirror I say I love myself, I am pretty, I am smart, I am amazing. / I am loving myself. Proud, shy, cute, proud of being deaf. / Good. / I feel great today. I think I could be courageous, and feel trustworthy. / To do better. / I feel weird / Smart, cute, hansom./ Well I feel none. I think but there is something. I feel like I focus on trying to know how I feel.

Hero: Who is Your Hero and Why do you think are they important? What characteristics or qualities, would you or do you, look for in a hero: Dante White always supports me and always supports others. Always doing stuff for teamwork.

If I need a hero, I would find a good friend as in best friends. / My hero is my mom. She is nice and sweet. I think she is important because she is nice, sweet, caring, generous, always positive to people. Oh and one time when she was sick and she got a new kidney. But the doctor said you can’t have babies. But then she got pregnant and the doctor said which one you want baby or kidney but she picked baby. Then when the baby was born, the doctor came in and said is it worth it? My mom said yes. So that is why I picked her as my hero. Well the characteristics or qualities I look for in my mom is she is nice, very sweet, and positive. / Volleyball player on team ASU- Sun Devils. I am good volleyball player and I am smart in math.

Nice, sweet, funny, friendly. / My pop is my hero because he is a good man, like you don’t even know it .Because he just is he is always here for me and always pro. / That picture I draw is my mom. She is only for me no matter what, also she is very supportive of me. Because it is how they will keep my attitude going up and keep my personal to be positive. Characteristics are honesty, fairness, respect, and responsible. / Seth Rollins. They’re an inspiration. Skills. / Spiderman is a clean guy as I am. I just help everyone and be nice. Athletic, clean guy, smart, sweet, deaf. / Deanne Bray. She was my hero because she taught me how to do acting. Yes she is an actress. / My grandma. Yes, they are a part of my life. Brave and intelligent. / Sgt. Roger is my hero, and he is my grandpa. He showed me that life is not as easy as you think, and do not give up on anything.

Caring, loving. / My hero is Ronda Rousey. Heroes are important to have someone to look up to when doing things or working on goals and such. Humbleness, confident, persistence, enjoying life, stand for something they believe in, never taking things for granted. / My parents and some friends from church, and my best friend Khant. Because whatever I feel like lonely or sad stressed, or upset and they notice, and tell me everything is ok but some say things to stay positive.

Through the Hoops: Skills or Tools Learned: Teamwork. Students and staff can agree work together well.

Bullying stop and treat each other fair. Group will stand together as one. / Work together. You will have people to help you with bullying. Help people. / Teacher or adults and others by deep communication. Help them feel better. By knowledge and teamwork. / Life measured by teamwork. To work together and urged to good job done.

To help them learn we’re there for you. To myself a better person to help others.

Seeing Beyond: We learned from the acting and clues which trigger logical thinking. It applies to school when students give acting or directions for another to guess a word. To give directions clearly to people by using the word new ways. / Seeing beyond. Science because they have a lot of thoughtful, texture, etc. Thoughtful and thinking outside the box. / Creativity. Art and science, writing, each subject requires thinking outside the box. To help express ourselves. / Tricky bags. Science, because we also describe things compared to what we did today.

Describe things.

Drawing One’s Fears, Hopes, and Dreams and Sharing: Not alone in fears. Makes you feel better like you are not alone. You never know if the bully has the same fear. If you try your fear will not be scared. / Express ourselves. Being able to do the work. To try to accomplish our goals. To have respect with others. Knowing what we want is the best feeling in our high school years. / Drawing as fear, hope, dreaming, and sharing. To experience and knowledge. To feel self and ignore them. To knowing about yourself and others. / Sometimes hope and dreams involve fear. Understand how it involves your future. Understand how the person feels. Drawing about fears, hopes, dreams will show emotions and be creative.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: When we went on a field trip. Talking to a new friend. To ignore negative stuff in your life. / Open our mind and heart. To be able to understand other people’s perspective. To try new things and learn new things.

Describe A Time when you had an experience that you perceived (thought/saw) as a negative, but through time or something you did, you perceived (thought/saw) the experience as a positive one. Draw on the other side of paper, a picture of how you felt about this experience. Draw how you felt at the beginning and how you felt when the change took place. Then, write about it below: The time I had experience that I thought as a negative was when I was sad or mad and thought I was always positive. / I went to movie. Bored. I need to go home eventually. / I play volleyball. I went to ASU game I wanted to meet the team. / I felt guilty. / I guess when I see negative then I’ll move on and do another thing. / None. I don’t remember it or I have yet to do it. / One time, I saw a movie about two young couples very much in love but apart from racism parents, but after I realized that love is really strong and they never broke the love. / I experience positive with my family. I always stay positive. I never give up on anything.

RELEASE THE FEAR, Inc

®

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Funded By: The National Endowment for the Arts & Herberger Foundation Date: November 17-19, 2015 Location: Sequoia Elementary School %Male 56

%Female 44

Ages 14-19

Do you think others (Kids my age, older & younger, Adults) have the same Fear as I do?

Pre %YES 65 %NO 24 %Other 12 Post %YES 78 %NO 22 %Other 0 Rate this statement: You feel comfortable speaking in front of others.

Pre % Not at all 35 % Sometimes 47 % All the Time 18 % No answer 0 Post % Not at all 22 % Sometimes 72 % All the Time 6 % No answer 0 Rate this statement: I believe I can make my hopes and/or dreams come true.

Pre % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 59 % All the Time 41 Post % Not at all 6 % Sometimes 44 % All the Time 50 Rate this statement: I respect my own decisions even when dealing with peer pressure.

Pre % Not at all 11 % Sometimes 18 % All the Time 71 % No answer: 0 Post % Not at all 11 % Sometimes 39 % All the Time 44 % No answer 6 Complete this statement: I am trustworthy and see myself as a __. Follower, Equal, Leader Pre % Follower 11 % Equal 65 % Leader 24 Post % Follower 22 % Equal 50 % Leader 28 Have you ever been bullied? % Yes 53 % No 41 % No Answer 6 Have you ever seen someone being bullied? % Yes 65 % No 35 % No Answer 0 Did you do anything? % Yes 65 % No 18 % No Answer 17 Did you learn something in the workshop that will help you deal with bullying?

Post % Yes 83 % No 11 % No Answer 6 Thoughts Shared: I learned to show people the right way. / Why I not like bully. I feel self- esteem. / Speak up. / I don’t know. / Because if you see bullying happen you can do something about it. / It helps me to deal with bullying and I don’t like it. / Ignore others as they bully me. / Always tell an adult, treat people with respect. / Be open minded, stop it don’t be a bystander. / I learn the same things over and over. / I already know how to stop people bullying other people.

After attending the character education workshop and learning about compassion, if you saw someone being bullied, would you do something?

Post % Yes 83 % No 11 % No Answer 6 Thoughts Shared: Tell teacher or principal. / I would defend the person. / I’d stop it no matter what. / I will stand up. / Once I saw bullying to others, I will say enough and stop. / I would stand up to the person who is getting bullied. / To stop and put under my wing. / Well I’d tell them back off or tell an adult. / Stand up. / If people bully, I will stop bullying.

Did you learn any skills, such as respect or responsibility, to help you make your own decisions not based on Peer Pressure?

Post % Yes 56 % No 33 % No Answer 11 Thoughts Shared: Like I said I learn some things over and over. / I came into this workshop knowing how to make my own decisions. / Learn respect from our parents. / I know to make right decisions. / I don’t know. / To make my own decisions. / Because other people can make me do a bad. / Yes, because it is my own decision instead of theirs.

What do you think about color?

What % gave more thought and shared them about color.

Pre 100% Post 78% Thoughts Shared: Pre: Colors are beautiful. / Red. / No, I have not thought about color, but I enjoy them. / I think about blue that it makes me sad or dark. / Yes, I thought of light blue. / No, sometimes I think of color as mood. / About neon screen and yes. / Black and white. / Gold, green, red. / Blue. / I never think about color. Color is just color. / I think color is beautiful. No. / Red. / No, when I think of color all I see is all bright color. / Pink, red. / Well sometimes and I think about color is well umm, is about which one is my favorite. / I like any color, but I dislike pink. My favorite is blue, red. White, black, green, purple, and gray.

Post: I think color is beautiful it has a lot of meaning. / I learned that sometimes color is your mood. / I understand that color maybe or maybe not connect about emotions. / I didn’t learn about color. / I don’t know. / Black and I learned about white my favorite by using my not favorite color. / I think a color is to inspire me and make me happy. / I am not sure as I was in mainstream class. / Red. / I’m not sure. / Green and now purple. / Green, purple, red. / That new color about the rainbow. / They are pretty amazing.

My most important hope or dream is. . .

What % gave more thought to their Dreams becoming reality.

Pre 100% Post 94% Thoughts Shared: Pre: To rap. / My most important dream is to be a singer and make people inspired by my music. / Become photographer and travel around the world. / It is to become a chef or actor or scientist or a designer or a camp counselor. / Job. / My dream is to be a fashion designer and my hope is to be a better dancer. / To play in NFL or NBA. / Is paying off all my parent’s debt. / Be successful and get my MD or PHD in sports medicine. / Need important caring for my friend and my family. / Getting into the armed forces. / Acting. / I want to help people.

Volleyball. / Doing photos. / CSI job. / To own my own business to launch a skin care and makeup line. / My dream is to be a football player and I work hard.

Post: Family. Get married, have children of my own. / I want to become a welder. / My dream is to be a rapper. / Is achieving college getting my dream job. / To be a fashion designer. / Become any type of photographer. / Be a football player in NFL. / Fighting in UFC or become a wrestler. / I’ve important dream is to trust. / To open a business about beauty. / Becoming a volleyball player for ASU. / Is college because I need to finish my capability of education so I can get my degree. / Grow trees. / Crime science investigation job. / Photos. / I hope I pass all my grades. / Is becoming actor or chef or design or scientist or own a restaurant.

One thing I learned in workshop that will help me reach my dream is: Post 89% discovered something new in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: I need important process. / Do not give up on anything. / How to respect others. Take responsibility. / Perseverance is important. Keep going no matter how hard it is. / To be responsible. / Work hard and learn responsibility. / Teamwork. / Fight for it. / I learned my dream could help me become a good man. / To listen to myself. / Just go for what you want don’t be scared. / To help and get knowledge for my mind. / Not needed. / Trust. / I learned about the hoops, draw my dream and fears and childhood. / Is express yourself and try to work hard and study and stuff.

Coming into the workshop, which Character Count did you want to improve or work on to help you? How did the workshop help you improve it?

Post 83% discovered something in the workshop to improve their Character Count.

Thoughts Shared: Respect, caring, trust, teamwork. / Respect and teamwork. / Not needed. / Want to improve in fairness. To be fair. / I want to keep working on my caring and being responsible. / None. / Because my parents help me for practice, respect, to behave, and help a friend Feel better. / Guessing stuff and describing stuff. / Nothing. / Understand others and communication work. / They helped me realize there is more things to life. / Caring it helped me to understand people’s struggles and not everyone has it easy. / How to respect others. Take responsibility. / Do not give up on anything. / Respect. / I don’t know. I don’t know almost or not anything./ I am a big taker.

What did you learn New in the workshop about a classmate or friend?

Post 67% discovered something new about classmates or friends in the workshop Thoughts Shared: Teamwork is necessary. / I understand that some of us may have same fears, so we are not alone. / I want to learn how to be nice to him or her and also respect my parents or friends. / I learned that a student has snakes, while I love snakes. / That you can have the same fear or you can help them and how you can trust or be fair. / Trust and support. / That everyone has a weird fear. / I learned that some of them are really fun and smart to talk to. Very opinionated. / We learned the hoop draw and guess game. It was fun. I enjoyed it and had lots of fun. / Work together with them and respect each other and work hard and pay attention.

Thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation, 6 young lives from Adobe Mountain Juvenile Facility experienced their Possibilities.

This workshop took place on December 1-3, 2015 - # 5 of 12 Opening up possibilities for the young minds of Arizona’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.© “Bridging Possibility” workshops.

Through stories, activities and artwork, Release the Fear’s Workshops will help students to:

     

Draw One’s Fears and Awaken Hopes and Dreams Stimulate Creative Listening and Communication Bridge Understanding Discuss How Color Affects Us and Our Environment Senses Heighten Visual Awareness of Our Environment Turn Pain into Possibilities into Purpose.

The students are divided into groups or teams that they remain with throughout the workshop. In their small group, the students may be asked to complete an activity, to share responses, or to reflect on an exercise. Often times these groups can have students with different beliefs, various backgrounds, and even opposing gang affiliations.

The workshop will end with a group created painting to be displayed for the public.

Participant Responses Participants are asked to reflect on several of the activities and then share with the group.

These responses are written in their words without edit.

The following responses are from the students who range in ages from 15-17.

The students are asked to reflect on the following question: How do you think this activity could help you in your daily life (In School, Out of School, or In Your Career)?

Who am I? : People are different and similar. Helps people focus. We already understand that people are similar and different. One person is not the only one that has issues. / Confidence. Talking to Ms. Iverson. Stand up for yourself. Standing up for yourself. / Participation. Answering questions. It doesn’t. It doesn’t. / Most people showed respect. To be more respectful to our teacher. To respect people’s choices. It’ll help me be more positive.

Creative story telling: Participation. To participate in events. To help speak up. Gain more confidence. / Knowing your role. Knowing expectations. Know when to interfere. Build confidence. / Caring. Caring about people. You would help and you wouldn’t bully. Take care of the homeless. / A skill learned is that we all can express our feelings through these behaviors. People in school act different with each other. Bullies can express their feelings and stop bullying in its tracks.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: We all have heroes and we can also be heroes. We can lead little kids to success. You can lead them but not by peer pressure. Make you feel more confident. / To be a leader. Teachers depending on us. Creating your own crowd. Be honest to yourself. / Participation. Answering questions. It doesn’t.

Helps me participate. / Confidence. To not be afraid to be ourselves. It’ll help us say no to the wrong things. Do more things with confidence.

Mirror Work: Look at Yourself in the eyes (ONLY) and tell yourself that you love or like yourself just the way you are: Weird. / It feels awesome. / When I look at myself I feel happy because I know that I’m going to be successful in life and that I’ll be happy. / Ok. / It feels weird. / Happy, good, crazy, friendly. / Decent and good. / Normal. / Good, self-motivation, great. / Normal.

Hero: Who is Your Hero and Why do you think are they important? What characteristics or qualities, would you or do you, look for in a Hero? My mom and dad. They took care of me my whole life. They know what is best for me. / They motivate me and help me reach my goals. Motivation and make a better person. / Batman. Because he is cool. / Batman. Because he doesn’t need anybody he is independent and he uses his abilities to help. / My parents and they are important because they do everything for me. / Superman. I don’t know. / My mom is really important because she encourages me and pushes me to be the best that I can be. / Moms. Feed me and take care of me. / Mom. Because she helps me get good grades and puts a roof over myself.

Through the Hoops: Skills or Tools Learned: Trust. To trust your peers. To tell someone you trust about it. So you can learn how to trust. / Teamwork. Group work, ask questions. Stop bullying. Working with other people. / Teamwork. Helping one another. Team up with the person getting bullied. Learning to work to work with each other. / Hopes and goals work together. To get work done. For people to stand up for people. So you can get achievements done.

Seeing Beyond: To work together. It’s going to help you to be descriptive, and illusive thinking. It can help us solve difficult situations. / Descriptive, listen. Help with your learning and describing the thing you are learning. By helping us pay attention. / Being descriptive. To know what you are talking about. / To be descriptive. It’ll help us be more descriptive with our answers. It’ll help me describe things in a way people can understand.

Drawing One’s Fears, Hopes, and Dreams and Sharing: To be open. More help. Open to opportunities. / To be open, learning more about yourself. Not shy, more help. Tell them what’s right. Open to our opportunities. / Learn more about myself. Figure out what subjects you like. Knowing if you would be brave to stand up. Learning what you like. / To be open, know yourself. More help. Telling the bully to stop. To be open to our opportunities.

RELEASE THE FEAR, Inc

®

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Funded By: The National Endowment for the Arts and the Herberger Foundation Date: December 1-3, 2015 Location: Adobe Mountain Juvenile Facility %Male 100

%Female 0

Ages 15-17

Do you think others (Kids my age, older & younger, Adults) have the same Fear as I do?

Pre %YES 33 %NO 50 %Other 17 % No Answer 0 Post %YES 33 %NO 33 %Other 33 % No Answer 0 Rate this statement: You feel comfortable speaking in front of others.

Pre % Not at all 17 % Sometimes 50 % All the Time 33 % No answer 0 Post % Not at all 17 % Sometimes 67 % All the Time 33 % No answer 0 Rate this statement: I believe I can make my hopes and/or dreams come true.

Pre % Not at all 33 % Sometimes 50 % All the Time 17 % No Answer 0 Post % Not at all 17 % Sometimes 67 % All the Time 17 % No Answer 0 Rate this statement: I respect my own decisions even when dealing with peer pressure.

Pre % Not at all 33 % Sometimes 33 % All the Time 33 % No answer 0 Post % Not at all 17 % Sometimes 33 % All the Time 50 % No answer 0 Complete this statement: I am trustworthy and see myself as a __. Follower, Equal, Leader Pre % Follower 0 % Equal 17 % Leader 85 Post % Follower 0 % Equal 33 % Leader 67 Have you ever been bullied? % Yes 33 % No 50 % No Answer 0

% Other 17

Have you ever seen someone being bullied? % Yes 100 % No 0 % No Answer 0 Did you do anything? % Yes 50 % No 33 % No Answer 0

% Other 17

Did you learn something in the workshop that will help you deal with bullying?

Post % Yes 33 % No 67 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: Help people that are getting bullied. / Be nice. / It’s not a problem.

After attending the character education workshop and learning about compassion, if you saw someone being bullied, would you do something?

Post % Yes 983 % No 17 % No Answer 0 Did you learn any skills, such as respect or responsibility, to help you make your own decisions not based on Peer Pressure?

Post % Yes 50 % No 50 % No Answer 0

What do you think about color?

What % gave more thought and shared them about color.

Pre 67% Post 50% Thoughts Shared: Pre: My favorite color is red. / It is beautiful. / Color represents aspects of man. / I guess it brings out contrasts. / Nothing.

Post: It’s okay. / Same. / I learned a few new uses. / Nothing.

My most important hope or dream is. . .

What % gave more thought to their Dreams becoming reality.

Pre 100% Post 83% Thoughts Shared: Pre: To become a law enforcement officer. / Dream of getting a job painting cars. / To get out. / Open up my own shop. / To get married to my girlfriend. / I don’t feel comfortable voicing it.

Post: Open a shop. / To get out of prison. / To become God. / Become a police officer. / Getting out, going to school and going home. / To dream.

One thing I learned in workshop that will help me reach my dream is: Post 50% discovered something new in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: To dream. / That plane is going somewhere. / I don’t know. / Go to school.

Coming into the workshop, which Character Count did you want to improve or work on to help you? How did the workshop help you improve it?

Post 33% discovered something in the workshop to improve their Character Count.

Thoughts Shared: That I am caring. / That we don’t have all equal in this language./ I don’t know.

What did you learn New in the workshop about a classmate or friend?

Post 67% discovered something new about classmates or friends in the workshop Thoughts Shared: Tex’s feelings. / Funerals suck. / My classmates are cool. / Everyone is different.

Thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation, 19 young lives from Adobe Mountain Juvenile Detention Center experienced their Possibilities.

This workshop took place on December 1 -3, 2015 - # 6 of 12 Opening up possibilities for the young minds of Arizona’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.© “Bridging Possibility” workshops.

Through stories, activities and artwork, Release the Fear’s Workshops will help students to:

     

Draw One’s Fears and Awaken Hopes and Dreams Stimulate Creative Listening and Communication Bridge Understanding Discuss How Color Affects Us and Our Environment Senses Heighten Visual Awareness of Our Environment Turn Pain into Possibilities into Purpose.

The students are divided into groups or teams that they remain with throughout the workshop. In their small group, the students may be asked to complete an activity, to share responses, or to reflect on an exercise. Often times these groups can have students with different beliefs, various backgrounds, and even opposing gang affiliations.

The workshop will end with a group created painting to be displayed for the public.

Participant Responses Participants are asked to reflect on several of the activities and then share with the group.

These responses are written in their words without edit.

The following responses are from the students who range in ages from 14-17.

The students are asked to reflect on the following question: How do you think this activity could help you in your daily life (In School, Out of School, or In Your Career)?

Who am I ?: Confidence, non-judgmental. Ask question, presentations. Standing up for yourself. Assertive and outgoing. / People have things in common. Make friends with common interests. You don’t judge anyone cause they have the same things in common. To know you’re not alone. / Patience. To learn something you don’t understand. To learn about what you’re judging. Make you stronger and learn that everything takes time. / Shed the fear, we’re not alone, courage, strength. That we’re able to fit in. Knowing that we’re all equal. Help you face your fears and accomplish your goals.

Creative Storytelling: Caring. To help others. Cause you will be caring for people. You will be selfless. / To be respectful and responsibility. To be responsible with my work and my actions. To respect others to get respect.

To treat others the way you want to be treated. / To open up and be creative. Being open. Standing up for yourself. Be creative. / Changing a negative situation to positive. Help you to be respectful and responsible.

You can learn to care and be kind. Lead us into success.

Mirror Work: Good, awesome. / Weird. / Hard to tell. / It’s awkward for me to give myself compliments and even from other people. / Depressed, content. / I don’t believe myself. So it makes me feel dumb. / Absolutely nothing. / Always feel that way. Good, faithful, worthy, real. / It makes me feel good about myself. / My smile, hair, and eyes. It makes me feel ok, I guess. / Content and loved. / It made me feel like I need to put mascara on cause my eyes look low. / Sexy. / It makes me feel like I should tell myself if I love myself more often. Also it just makes me feel normal like nothing has happened. / Happy, sad, beautiful. / Failed, hopeful. / I love myself. It feels good. / I love myself. It feels good. / It makes me feel unique and special.

Hero: Who is Your Hero and Why do you think are they important? What characteristics or qualities, would you or do you, look for in a Hero? Johnny Depp. Nice, compassionate, smart. Being smart, compassionate, kind. / Eazy-E. Wu Tang.

They have good personalities. / Robin Williams. He’s in my opinion one of the greatest actor/comedian of our time. He also has a respectable amount of insanity. / My hero is my best friend Zack because he has always saved me from everyone plus myself. / My mommy. She does everything for me. / My mom because she is the strongest, smartest, bravest woman I know, and she’s never given up on me and she loves me when I don’t love myself, which is always. / Taylor Swift. Cause she’s awesome. / My sister Maritza. Because they showed me nothing but good. / I called my hero daddy and mommy.

Because they try to understand me and they love me regardless. / My dad is my hero. They showed me how to be. / My hero is my uncle the things he says. He use to tell me all these good things and supportive things. He always use to know what to say. He always said the right thing. / My mom has been there since I was a lil baby. She never gave up on me when she could of. She’s a very strong intelligent woman. She’s my role model. / My daddy. Because I love him and he was there for me. / God and my brother because there a big part of me. / Chris Brown. Chris Brown is a famous singer/rapper. They are important cause makes me want to be a singer just like him and that is what I love. / God. Cause he is my salvation. / Because they save the world. / Myself. I don’t know. / My mama. Because without her, there wouldn’t be me. She is and always will be my hero!

Through the Hoops: Teamwork. Being able to communicate. Helping other when getting bullied. When you have a job. / Teamwork and communication. To work in a group with others. By making friends and working together. You have to “jump through hoops” in life (go through obstacles) and move on from them. / Communication, participating. Teamwork requires participation. Getting along with bully. Can’t give up. Be creative. / How to use teamwork. Using teamwork helps you succeed. When you’re working as a team you can defeat the bullies. When you need help you will always have a team.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: Reflecting and self acceptance. Know you want good grades of yourself.

Not following into negative behavior. Self-esteem. / To make me feel better about myself. You can learn to love yourself and help others love themselves. To realize that you’re find just the way you are. It can build confidence in me. / Self-confidence, courage, and intelligence. Don’t let people get to you. Being able to say no! Gain more confidence. / You always have someone to look up to and you can accept yourself. You don’t have to try to be someone you’re not. Stand up for yourself and not give in. You’ll accept who you are and achieve your goals.

Seeing Beyond: Seeing through a third eye. Being creative in art cause you can see things differently. Think outside the box and being unique. / To describe things. It would help maybe to describe what you read or science a project. Math too. By describing how you feel or what’s wrong. / Creativity. Science, art, and lunch (sometimes). / Describing tough situations. It would help in math by picturing what someone is trying to show you. You can see beyond the naked eye.

Describe a time when you had an experience that you perceived as negative, but through time of something you did, you perceived the experience as a positive one. Getting arrested. / I didn’t like basketball at first. I was gonna quit the team, but I tried it out more and ended up really liking it. / The first time I went to separation I was bored and it felt like time never changed and I’d never go back to the unit, but now it’s like my second room. I would rather stay there and sleep then be arguing with fake people. / At first, I hated being here then as time went and I started making friends, I liked it. / First started skateboarding. Fell a lot. Then got really good and enjoyed it. The pain paid off. / When I work out. / When I got a roommate and I didn’t want her.

I accepted the fact that I didn’t want her. / A time when I was in a bad situation was when I couldn’t get what I wanted but then I accepted the fact that I couldn’t get what I wanted so I made a new. / Being here I thought it was gonna be pointless but I learned a lot about myself and how to handle myself. / When my mom told me to change my group of friends I thought she was out to get one and didn’t want me to have fun but I now realized that she just wants the best for me and was just me out of danger. I feel grateful for that because she was right all along. / There nothing on here that I want to talk about. All my bad experience have all been negative. Sorry. / Coming out here was a bad experience, but now I know where I want to be!! / When I was 12 my parents decided that we were going to move here to Arizona from Michigan. I put up the biggest fight and I was so upset because that’s when I grew up and where my friends and family were. I was so scared, but when I got here, I seemed to fit in better and I found so much fun opportunities that now I don’t think I’d even move back.

Drawing One’s Fears, Hopes, and Dreams and Sharing: Handling fear. Be able to be brave. Be able to face your bully. You will learn to be strong. / To be open and honest and show who you are. To be yourself. To be open and honest about how you feel. To be yourself. / Being open and knowing yourself. Share your interests to other people. Releasing the fear. Being aware of future. / Everybody has their own dreams. Helps us choose our dream path. When bullied, stay focused on your goals and dreams. By becoming who we dream to be.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: Seeing the silver lining. So you would have a better outlook. You won’t be so negative. / That there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. To find the positive in everything. To know that the bad will end and the good will always shine through. / 6 pillars. Learning, practice, and teaching. Learning how to be all 6 pillars. / Things will seem ugly before they get beautiful. To keep moving forward and keep your head up high. Show you that nothing bad lasts forever.

RELEASE THE FEAR, Inc

®

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Funded By: The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation, Date: December 1-3, 2015 Location: Adobe Mountain Juvenile Detention Center %Male 100

%Female 0

Ages 14-17

Do you think others (Kids my age, older & younger, Adults) have the same Fear as I do?

Pre %YES 79 %NO 21 %Other 0 Post %YES 87 %NO 13 %Other 0 Rate this statement: You feel comfortable speaking in front of others.

Pre % Not at all 21 % Sometimes 63 % All the Time 16 Post % Not at all 13 % Sometimes 67 % All the Time 20 Rate this statement: I believe I can make my hopes and/or dreams come true.

Pre % Not at all 5 % Sometimes 58 % All the Time 37 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 67 % All the Time 50 Rate this statement: I respect my own decisions even when dealing with peer pressure.

Pre % Not at all 10 % Sometimes 64 % All the Time 26 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 16 % All the Time 84 Complete this statement: I am trustworthy and see myself as a __. Follower, Equal, Leader Pre % Follower 0 % Equal 58 % Leader 42 Post % Follower 0 % Equal 50 % Leader 50 Have you ever been bullied? % Yes 68 % No 32 % No Answer 0 Have you ever seen someone being bullied? % Yes 90 % No 5 % No Answer 5 Did you do anything? % Yes 63 % No 32 % No Answer 5 Did you learn something in the workshop that will help you deal with bullying?

Post % Yes 67 % No 33 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I learned I’m not alone. / Always stand up for yourself and others. / I missed the first 2 days. / Treat others the way you want to be treated! / Defending myself. / Learn about caring. / I learned respect. / I wasn’t there most the time. / Nothing was said. / Speak up for other when they’re being bullied. / Keep your head up and be kind.

After attending the character education workshop and learning about compassion, if you saw someone being bullied, would you do something?

Post % Yes 80 % No 20 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I’d speak up for them. / Stand up for them. / Always. / That is wrong. / Help figure something out! / I’d tell someone or go up to the bully myself. / Not my problem. / I would stop them. / I like to lay low. / I always do something. / I been bullied. / I would tell someone. / Always no one should be bullied.

Did you learn any skills, such as respect or responsibility, to help you make your own decisions not based on Peer Pressure?

Post % Yes 73 % No 27 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I learned how to care. / Be confident with yourself. / Again, I missed a good chunk. / It’s my choice! / Do things for myself not others. / Caring. / Be responsible. / I already knew most skills. / I already know. / Being confident and assertive. / Both, I’ve known to make my own.

What do you think about color?

What % gave more thought and shared them about color.

Pre 68% Post 80% Thoughts Shared: Pre: I love color. I’m a very colorful person and I especially love bright neon colors. / Red. / No, I haven’t thought about colors. / It’s whatever. Just another thing in life. / It makes me happy! Rainbows. / IDK. / I’ve never thought about it. / I don’t really think about this. / I like cool calming colors. / I love to be colorful. I love the rainbow! / I think it’s awesome. / I love blood red. / I think it makes everything better and better. / It’s just color, we all human. / Yes! I love the color blue. / I think nothing of color. I think we are all equal. / Yeah. / It makes everything prettier.

Post: I think it says a lot about who we are. / Always do the best you can. / Differences are a beautiful thing. / I think of it the same. / I still love color. Makes everything more interesting. / Color is beautiful. / They can be vibrant. / It’s just color. / Color is still color. / We’re all human. / That colors can have many meanings. / I still love all color. Color is everything.

My most important hope or dream is. . .

What % gave more thought to their Dreams becoming reality.

Pre 95% Post 93% Thoughts Shared: Pre: Hair beautician in L.A., tattoo artist in L.A., also an actress. / To become a cosmetologist. / I don’t have one. / IDK right now. / Help others. / To get my GED and become a substance abuse counselor. / Making money and being successful. / Making doing something I love. / To be successful. / To become a cosmetologist and have a wonderful family and house. / I hope I’ll get out of this hell hole. / I’m not gonna be around long enough. / Get out of Adobe. Get my high school diploma. / Join the Marines. / Is to go off to college and become an FBI in the BAU. / I want become a sing and be famous. / To not become like my family! / To get my diploma. / To become a counselor and move on to bigger better things. I leave all of this everything and everyone behind me.

Post: Get married and stay married. / To be successful. / To be an independent, successful, family orientated woman. / I want to be a singer. / Becoming a mechanic! / Graduating high school. / Running my own business. / To be successful. / Marriage. / To graduate high school, go to college. / Marines. / Is get my GED and becoming a substance abuse counselor. / To be happy with my life. / To be a hair beautician, tattoo artist, and/or an actress in L.A.

One thing I learned in workshop that will help me reach my dream is: Post 100% discovered something new in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: Is I have to put the work in to achieve. / Always try your best at everything you do no matter what. / Don’t give up! / Staying strong. / Having faith! / Be yourself and be creative. / Is speaking out. / Be an overachiever. / Respect. / Respect, hard work pays off. / Patience. / Never give up. / That there is more than one to accomplish something. / Teamwork is the best work.

What did you learn New in the workshop about yourself that you did not know before?

Post 73% discovered something new about themselves in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: That I’ve gone through so much. / I have patience. / I’m a lot more mature than I used to be and I can be around people I may not enjoy but I can ignore pettiness. / Yes. / I am capable to do something I want! / I’m beautiful in a lot of different ways. / I have more than one fear. / I’m confident in my choices. / I’m the only one who thinks I will end up in prison. / Nothing. I knew myself pretty well. / Nothing. / I’m good at giving helpful advice. / That my eyes have a paw print design in them.

What did you learn New in the workshop about a classmate or friend?

Post 80% discovered something new about classmates or friends in the workshop Thoughts Shared: I have something in common with them. / They like to be open and honest. / Everyone is unique. / I can do this. / Their fears. / About their fears. / Nothing. / They’re caring. / My girlfriend is shy and doesn’t like Trent. / Everybody has been through something. / Nothing. / We have something in common with everyone. / Everyone is different in themselves but we can come together. / That their lives are and aren’t very different and not to judge one another.

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation, 27 young lives from Florence Crittenton experienced their Possibilities.

This workshop took place on January 5-7, 2016 - # 7 of 12 Opening up possibilities for the young minds of Arizona’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.© “Bridging Possibility” workshops.

Through stories, activities and artwork, Release the Fear’s Workshops will help students to:

     

Draw One’s Fears and Awaken Hopes and Dreams Stimulate Creative Listening and Communication Bridge Understanding Discuss How Color Affects Us and Our Environment Senses Heighten Visual Awareness of Our Environment Turn Pain into Possibilities into Purpose.

The students are divided into groups or teams that they remain with throughout the workshop. In their small group, the students may be asked to complete an activity, to share responses, or to reflect on an exercise. Often times these groups can have students with different beliefs, various backgrounds, and even opposing gang affiliations.

The workshop will end with a group created painting to be displayed for the public.

Participant Responses Participants are asked to reflect on several of the activities and then share with the group.

These responses are written in their words without edit.

The following responses are from the students who range in ages from 13-17.

The students are asked to reflect on the following question: How do you think this activity could help you in your daily life (In School, Out of School, or In Your Career)?

Who am I? : We learned that we are never alone, that no matter where you are there will be someone who can relate. It teaches you how to be open, it helps self-esteem and can help you make friends. It helps you to not be afraid to step up and say something. It makes you think, it helps you reflect on your thoughts and make the choices you make. / Not to judge others because of the differences. It will help us make friends better. Tells us some people could be really cool if you get to know them. Makes you get in touch with people in general. / To be honest what we have in common. So being there for people in school not letting tem be alone. So letting people know that they are valued and not to listen to other people. It will help us build positive relationships. / That we are not alone. We could make more friends. In the future you could stick up for them. It’d make it better to feel honest and open. / We realized that we do actually have things in common. To know that you’re not singled out and to know that we all have common fears. You can’t be judged for things we all have been through and our mistakes.

You can overcome things and there is always someone you can talk to that’s been through the same as you.

Creative story telling: That all six pillars need to be used in everyday life. If you show the six pillars you’re held to bigger standards and will be looked as a leader. One voice can make a difference. It will make it easier also you can start a chain reaction. / So we could talk the talk and walk the walk. So we could teach our friends and be closer. It could prevent or minimize bullying. Meet new people with the same interests. / Trustworthiness. So if you go and tell that person make sure it is someone you trust.

To use the pillars in order to build relationships. By working through things helping others. / The most important things aren’t said. It shows you care for others. It will show there’s always someone there.

Everybody can help each other if they just try. / Respect. Give respect. Killing them with kindness and they can learn to stick up for themselves. Help you to do good in life and learn how not to be disrespectful because without respect life can be much worse.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: Everybody is different in their own way but that’s what makes them perfect. It shows we can have more self -confidence. You are able to be more in control of yourself. It tells you that you can be you no matter what society says. / You don’t have to look through the mirror only in the eyes because it tells you most about you. Tell yourself you are doing good. Tell yourself that you are a better man than that. Tell yourself you are pretty too. / To learn to love yourself. You can’t love others if you don’t love yourself. You don’t stoop down to what they say. Can open more doors, makes it easier, makes more friends. / That you are beautiful and have confidence in yourself. Learn that no one is perfect. By building up your self-esteem. Helps you speak in front of crowds. / We learned to be honest. And discover who we are. To be more confident and not be afraid to express yourself. It helps you make choices and be yourself. It teaches you to love yourself and how to just be you. It can teach you happiness and love.

Mirror Work: Look at Yourself in the eyes (ONLY) and tell yourself that you love or like yourself just the way you are: It made me feel one with myself and know that I am the best no matter what anyone says. / It makes me feel more confident. / I have many reasons I don’t like mirrors. Weird, nervous. / Great. / Like I need to stop lying to myself. / I love myself. Happy, beautiful, gorgeous. / The same. / I’m a strong, independent woman. Last time I did this activity, I couldn’t look in the mirror, now I am able to and tell myself that I love myself. / I feel fabulous. / It makes me feel good. / Happy, beautiful, important. / Mad, angry, upset, and not beautiful, I feel this way because I was mad. / Flawless, grateful, blessed, beautiful, gorgeous, family, intelligent, outgoing, adventurous, positive, good, smart, at peace, and I’m fabulous. / I felt bomb because I am bomb. / Good and beautiful. / Amazing and beautiful. / Good and beautiful. / It makes me feel better about myself. It makes me think about who I am and how beautiful I am inside and out. It shows me that I don’t need anyone to make me feel better, but myself. I saw a strong, independent, and reliable young woman. / Flawless.

Hero: Who is Your Hero and Why do you think are they important? What characteristics or qualities, would you or do you, look for in a Hero? My hero is my mom because she is the most amazing woman. I know she’s strong, independent, she’s caring, kind, smart, realistic. She has been there for me through everything. Because she saved my life, and touched my heart in ways nobody else ever has, she taught me how to be strong, and not to cry and be who I am without falling down and going down the wrong path. / Mom. Because she adopted me and she loves me and she’s just awesome inside and out. / My heroes are Chicano/Chicana rappers because they don’t get notice as much as other rappers do and to me they’re beautiful because they speak their heart and their love and loyalty to their people and what they love and believe in so they’re my heroes, people always judge them, it gets me mad. / My grandma, she takes care of me. / My mom is my hero.

Because those who made me and is always by my side. / Mom because she is special, because she loves me. / My family, mom, dad. They are important to me because they adopted me and took me in their arms. They took me, they love me and I matter. / Family. Because they are my life I love them. / My little bro, because he means the world to me. Because he always has been there for me. / My brother is my hero, he’s saved my life twice from what I remember. If he wasn’t in my life I’d be lonely, and sad, and bored. / My hero is honestly my whole family because hero’s never give up and they have never given up on me. / They saved me and influence me to go and do well. / My hero is my mom. The reason why I think my mommy is important because she’s been there for me. / Amy Lee. Because when I’m sad or depressed her music helps me. / My dad. / My mom because she tries her hardest to make all of us happy, and she always there for me and my family. / My hero is my best friend Amethyst. She is the funniest and most amazing person I have ever met. She is so optimistic and loves goo music. She is so important to me because she has helped me to understand the dark things in life but also how to fix things that seem unfixable. / I don’t have an actual hero, but someone I look up to who helps me a lot would be Mr. Manuel and my dad. My dad is important because he has been through a lot and wants to give up but doesn’t. Mr. Manuel is important because he is there for me and helps me so much and probably knows the most about me here, he has so much to do, but still tries to help not just me but all of us./ Mom because she feeds me.

Through the Hoops: Skills or Tools Learned: Working together, we learned how you use communication in all kinds of situations and how working together is better than working alone. It helps to trust others and work together. It helps you to communicate with others and work as a team. It helps you to deal with difficult or uncomfortable situations. / We all had to link up and trust each other. Learned team building skills. You depend on each other. Will help you in a work environment by working together. / To use our senses and trust others. To trust peers in a group project. People can trust me to end it. Trust people with things you’re not able to do. / Helping all other.

Through the Hoops: To help someone when they need help. If you see someone getting bullied, go and help them. Help yourself or others when you or they need it. / It takes teamwork to do hard things. It helps us understand and trust one another. People are more likely to get together to help someone. It builds on overall trust in people in general./ Teamwork applies everywhere. It took teamwork to even teach you how to read this. It takes teamwork for a family to live together, for a store to function, for Apple to make products or for the people to develop the chair that you are sitting in. It takes teamwork for America to be where it is without teamwork, literally nothing would exist.

Drawing One’s Fears, Hopes, and Dreams and Sharing: You never know. / How to make goals; not everything is as it seems. Can be more open to different things and help you do better. Maybe if you stand up it’ll be better than you thought. Will be more open to different things and things we don’t like. / You can always try on what you want to do in life. It’s going to help you out in your future. Someone says yes I can. It helps you out in life. / People have many hopes and dreams they would like to achieve. Gives you a clear picture of the goals you want to do in your work. It makes it harder to bend to peer pressure because you know what you want. You know what you want in life and you can feel confident in your goals. / Our dreams play a big part in our life. And a lot of people have the same fears as we do. It matters to us to do better and start thinking about our future. Find similarities and standing up and being communicative. Makes us do better./ My dream is to be a doctor or nurse or a special education teacher. My biggest fear is sakes. My childhood memory is spending time with my eight brothers and one sister. /My biggest dream is to become a lawyer or a soldier. My fear is losing my family and friends. But my most main fear is losing my little brother Jose. My favorite memory was when I lived with my sister. / Me doing people’s hair.

Me dying. My sister and I meeting my mom for the first time in 2012.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: I learned that when we see someone getting bullied sticking up for them we can work together to stop bullying and that anyone can help stop it. Social skills, teamwork, communication, safety.

Life skills, coping, getting along, connections, better life. / Bullying can be solved if people really cared. It will give you more confidence to stand up for your friends. Makes you feel more equal with each other and the community. / You should not bully others. You should tell the staff. Bullying is immature. / Stick up for yourself, don’t be a bystander. Respect, stand up for yourself and others. / We need to trust ourselves and be active. Making ourselves feel better in general. Remind yourself that you are strong.

Describe A Time when you had an experience that you perceived (thought/saw) as a negative, but through time or something you did, you perceived (thought/saw) the experience as a positive one. Draw on the other side of paper, a picture of how you felt about this experience. Draw how you felt at the beginning and how you felt when the change took place. Then, write about it below: I had experience of thought that my mom would hate me. But then I thought that I was just wrong. / By stepping up and saying something. / When I ended up in treatment, I thought it was the worst thing in the world. But it helped me so much. / I thought going to Devereux was going to be a negative but in the end it turned out positive./ When I ring a bell, you wake up in a prison cell, knowing well you are on your way down to hell. Blink once, blink twice is this where I am? Is this really where I am? Not a single hope of ever doing right. I was out living my life, but was I really living, or did I feel alive? I want to take you back to a time where I messed up my life. I know how you feel. I never stop believing. I was just cribbing watching the clock. Ain’t tripping, watch how I walk. If this is who you are and now this is who I am, then maybe we’ll never learn to change who we are. These days go by so slowly staring up at the ceiling, feeling lonely, thinking about myself thinking about my life, thinking about what it’s gonna be like. If I open my eyes, if I see lies and feel guilt I deny. If I change it, can I make it? I know I make mistakes, but that doesn’t change the way I feel inside. Just because I push it away every time it comes around doesn’t mean I don’t care, or that I can’t bounce up from the ground. People like that don’t phase me they just drain me. Think they do think they run the world, think they know how I feel. They don’t know why I cry, or why I try. Why I push so hard. They don’t know a single thing about my story or how I changed. They know my name, that doesn’t mean a thing now. If’ it’s time I get it right, it’s time I release the fear that’s inside, so I can be so much more than who you see and what you think I am. Truth is I’ve been through things you don’t dare imagine, things I have been holding inside most of my life. But now it’s time I stand up, spread my wings, touch the sky, and learn how to fly.

Funded By: The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation Date: January 5-7, 2016 Location: Florence Crittenton %Male 0

%Female 100

Ages 13-17

Do you think others (Kids my age, older & younger, Adults) have the same Fear as I do?

Pre %YES 48 %NO 26 %Other 26 Post %YES 80 %NO 8 %Other 12 Rate this statement: You feel comfortable speaking in front of others.

Pre % Not at all 22 % Sometimes 48 % All the Time 33 % No answer 0 Post % Not at all 16 % Sometimes 56 % All the Time 28 % No answer 0 Rate this statement: I believe I can make my hopes and/or dreams come true.

Pre % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 59 % All the Time 41 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 64 % All the Time 36 Rate this statement: I respect my own decisions even when dealing with peer pressure.

Pre % Not at all 4 % Sometimes 27 % All the Time 69 % No answer: 0 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 40 % All the Time 60 % No answer 0 Complete this statement: I am trustworthy and see myself as a __. Follower, Equal, Leader Pre % Follower 7 % Equal 41 % Leader 52 Post % Follower 0 % Equal 48 % Leader 52 Have you ever been bullied? % Yes 86 % No 7 % No Answer 7 Have you ever seen someone being bullied? % Yes 100 % No 0 % No Answer 0 Did you do anything? % Yes 78 % No 15 % No Answer 15

% Other 0

Did you learn something in the workshop that will help you deal with bullying?

Post % Yes 92 % No 8 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: To stand up for others. / My fears. / I have a voice. / Help out the people that are getting bullied. / Help out. / We have the same fear. / I learned to stand up for myself. / To be compassionate. / Tell someone. / To stand up for myself. / How to trust more and talk better. / Stand up for yourself. / Stand up for them because they are similar to you. / I can stand up for myself. / My views are the same. / Because they told us how we can help someone. / My solution to bullying is that if everyone saw each other as equal people they would stop making fun of each other’s difference. / Honestly, you can’t stop bullying because people can careless until a situation like someone died. / My solution is to just do me and to be a leader because if I can show that I’m not going to be a bully. Yet there is always going to be dumb people. But we can stand up for someone who is getting bullied. But like how because it’s going to be dumb. As many solutions as there is there will always be bullies.

There is no stopping it because there are some dumb ass people out there that don’t understand the outcome of bullying. But there is always a way to prevent it. The change starts with you because only you have the power to stop bullying. Stop it now.

After attending the character education workshop and learning about compassion, if you saw someone being bullied, would you do something?

Post % Yes 96 % No 4 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: Because it is always good to help out. / It depends. / I would tell an older person. / I will always do something. / I do have sympathy. / Stand up for them. / Of course. / I would stand up for them. / I’m not alone. / Tell an adult and help them. / Stick up for them. / Change. / I would help them work through it. / I would stand up for that person. / Because you should not let them bully. / Stop them. / It depends. / Yes and no just sometimes.

Did you learn any skills, such as respect or responsibility, to help you make your own decisions not based on Peer Pressure?

Post % Yes 92 % No 8 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I do me regardless. / Stand up to them. / I know that my decisions matter. / I learned to trust myself more. / I can stick up for myself. / Respect others. / That things can differ from my thoughts. / Not everyone’s the same. / Responsibility. / To respect everyone, remember to say no. / Being independent. / Stand up for yourself. / I learned respect. / Always. / I will show more respect to others. Not really.Because they taught a lot.

What do you think about color?

What % gave more thought and shared them about color.

Pre 96% Post 100% Thoughts Shared: Pre: My favorite colors are red and blue. / Black. / Red and black. / We have emotion to colors. / Good I guess. / Blue. / Yes, blue pants and blue sky. / I think some colors represent hope and love. / I love the color black. / I think that color reflects on everything. / Tye dye. / It relates to emotions. / They are pretty. / It’s colorful. / I think color brings out the attitude in something. / It’s good and bad; it can build beautiful things but destroy them as well. / Color doesn’t matter. / I never really thought about colors just that they are pretty. / Color means your emotions and how your emotions work. / Color is a beautiful thing. / I think the world would be no where without color. / My color skin, I’m brown, proud and I love the color blue. / They all have a different meaning to different people. / It’s very beautiful and brings out a lot. / It’s a way to see new things. / Colors can mean a lot. Just depends on what color it is. / I think about The Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of The moon photos.

Post: That everyone is different. / I love all colors because I am an artist. / I still feel indifferent. / That every color is different. / I learned nothing about paint or color. / Color is based on feeling. / Color reflects on everything. / Maybe you won’t like all colors but you can learn to like colors. / I think color is bright. / Just a color. / Nothing new. / It represents yourself. / It’s not bad. / Color to me means your emotions. / I think they shouldn’t judge color. / I still love the color blue. / Favorite color red and black. / I still think color doesn’t matter. / I still think the world would be nowhere without color. / Tye dye. / It doesn’t matter it’s just color. / I feel like it is therapeutic. / Beauty. / Without you least favorite color the rainbow wouldn’t be pretty.

My most important hope or dream is. . .

What % gave more thought to their Dreams becoming reality.

Pre 85% Post 100% Thoughts Shared: Pre: To finish school. / To go home and to fight. / I would like to go home. / Dream. / To go to college and be a lawyer. / To be successful. / Move in with my boyfriend when I am 18. / I want to be successful so I can take care of my mom. / To get out of here and become a nurse and also go into the army. / Having my own radio station. / Be with mom and dad forever. / My most important dream is to be an optometrist. / Is to become a famous make-up artist. / To see my little brother and save lives. / To be the very best I can be through my life. / Is to go home. /

My most important hope or dream is. To realize that all hard times I’ve gone through were part of God’s plan to make me stronger. / Is to become independent. / Become a photographer. / Is to be independent. / To become an advocate for girls who have been raped and or molested. / To become a tattoo artist, graphic designer or a video game maker. / To be a veterinarian and have my own clinic.

Post: Being a mom. / I want to be a doctor. / Go home. / Is family and school. / Become a veterinarian. / Become a photographer with a Volkswagon bus. / To have my own vet. / To finish school. / Is to move from my problems. / Radio station. / To go home. / To graduate high school. / To go home. / Leave. / Be a singer, song writer, see my brother, family and save lives. / Achieve goals. / To become an ob-gyn. / To eventually have my own shop. / To be successful. / Going home. / To get a successful job. / To be the best I can be. / To become self-reliant. / To become a tattoo artist. / To be a lawyer.

One thing I learned in workshop that will help me reach my dream is: Post 100% discovered something new in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: That no one is perfect and you will have ins and outs. / I can achieve my dreams no matter what. / To become self-reliant. / I can do anything I put my mind to. / I can do it. / Stand up. / Being independent. / To stay focused on my dream. / Don’t give up. / Believe. / That people ae listening. / School. / My goals and family. / Is to keep positive thinking. / Everyone has most of the same dreams. / The lady talked to me. / To finish school. / Motivation. / Never give up. / That everyone is different. / Not to bully. / To be a doctor.

Coming into the workshop, which Character Count did you want to improve or work on to help you? How did the workshop help you improve it?

Post 100% discovered something in the workshop to improve their Character Count: How to get along. / I learned I can stop bullying. / I learned that everyone is more responsible. / Not sure. / To solve bullying. / People have similar feelings. / Respect. / Not to bully. / To stick up for not bullying. / To keep positive thinking. / We are the same. / I’m more self-confident. / Most people have the same plan as me. / I can look in the mirror. / To love myself no matter what. / Confidence. / I have stuff in common with others. / I am fabulous. / That I’m strong. / I don’t know. / I am very independent. / No comment.

What did you learn New in the workshop about a classmate or friend?

Post 100% discovered something new about classmates or friends in the workshop Thoughts Shared: That everyone has different situations. / Everyone can have differences and similarities. / Different views. / That everyone is different. / We are all the same with fears, we have them. / They have the same fears. / They have been through similar situations. / Everyone goes through bullying. / We have similarities. / Have same fears. / That we have more in common then I thought. / I like them. / Most have the same fear. / That we all have the same fear. / To respect. / Everyone is similar but different. / We have things in common. / They went through some same stuff as me. / We have some things in common. / Some people go through a lot. / Not to bully people. / They have some of the fears as me.

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Thanks to Thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation, 11 young lives from Children’s First Academy experienced their Possibilities.

This workshop took place on January 12-14, 2016 - # 8 of 12 Opening up possibilities for the young minds of Arizona’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.© “Bridging Possibility” workshops.

Through stories, activities and artwork, Release the Fear’s Workshops will help students to:

     

Draw One’s Fears and Awaken Hopes and Dreams Stimulate Creative Listening and Communication Bridge Understanding Discuss How Color Affects Us and Our Environment Senses Heighten Visual Awareness of Our Environment Turn Pain into Possibilities into Purpose.

The students are divided into groups or teams that they remain with throughout the workshop. In their small group, the students may be asked to complete an activity, to share responses, or to reflect on an exercise. Often times these groups can have students with different beliefs, various backgrounds, and even opposing gang affiliations.

The workshop will end with a group created painting to be displayed for the public.

Participant Responses Participants are asked to reflect on several of the activities and then share with the group.

These responses are written in their words without edit.

The following responses are from the students who range in ages from 12-14.

The students are asked to reflect on the following question: How do you think this activity could help you in your daily life (In School, Out of School, or In Your Career)?

Who am I? : Differences, common. No bullying, participate. Making it hard to stereotype. See their way of life. / Courage, cooperation. Good reports, ask questions. Be the odd one out. Speak in front of people, get along with family. / Following along. Good cooperation. No, because everyone is cooperating. When you get a job, you can cooperate.

Creative storytelling: Working together. Teamwork. Team up to fight bully. Working with other people. / Get up in front of people, working together. Plays, to be a part of the act. Standing up from somebody, get help.

Ceremonies, organizations, events. / Responsibility. Listening and taking responsibility. Staying up for the other person. Being accountable.

Mirror Work: Look at Yourself in the eyes (ONLY) and tell yourself that you love or like yourself just the way you are: Okay I guess. / Very good. / Cool! / Happy, crazy, bored.

Hero: Who is Your Hero and Why do you think are they important? What characteristics or qualities, would you or do you, look for in a Hero? My mom because that’s my mom. / Stickman because he’s a stick. Stickness. / My godmother.

Because she’s my godmother. Brave, amazing, nice. / He’s strong.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: Looking into the eyes are powerful. You don’t get in trouble. You don’t fall into peer pressure. Help be a better person. / Looking into the eyes is powerful. You don’t get in trouble. You don’t fall into peer pressure. Make better choices. / Looking into your eyes is powerful. If you are looking in your eyes, you have confidence. You don’t fall into peer pressure. Help to be a better person.

Seeing Beyond: Think, understanding, guessing. Science, math problem, reading, writing. Make your life easier. / Thinking, guessing. In science, math, reading, writing. Make your life not as hard. / Guessing, thinking and understanding. Science, math, reading. It will make your life easier.

Drawing One’s Fears, Hopes, and Dreams and Sharing: Dreams can be reached. Work hard. They have fears. I can be successful. / Everyone has fears, dreams. Reach goals. Relate to them. All are the same. / Dreams are important. Reach goals. Bullying sucks. I can be happy.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: To trust. Trust others. Build relationships. / Caring. Care for work.

Dreams can be reached. / Trust. Help others. Better person.

Write about a time when you were trustworthy or caring and helped someone else in a positive way. How did it feel afterward? Describe the experience below. Then draw a picture on the back of what the experience looked like: I always do my own homework. / I helped give someone a dollar. / When I gave food to a homeless man. / I was playing football and saw Xavier and he was hurt from a slam and looked like he was gonna cry so I let him get a catch on me to make him feel better. / The time I was caring was when my dad was in the hospital. I went to stay with my dad so he wasn’t alone and that felt good because I got to spend time with him. / I help my friend up because him and someone else. I felt bad afterward. / I didn’t lie about my grades.

RELEASE THE FEAR, Inc

®

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Funded By: The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation Date: January 12-14, 2016 Location: Children’s First Academy %Male 45

%Female 55

Ages 12-14

Do you think others (Kids my age, older & younger, Adults) have the same Fear as I do?

Pre %YES 36 %NO 45 %Other 0 % No answer 18 Post %YES 43 %NO 43 %Other 0 % No answer 0 Rate this statement: You feel comfortable speaking in front of others.

Pre % Not at all 45 % Sometimes 36 % All the Time 18 % No answer 0 Post % Not at all 43 % Sometimes 43 % All the Time 14 % No answer 0 Rate this statement: I believe I can make my hopes and/or dreams come true.

Pre % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 64 % All the Time 27 % No answer 9 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 44 % All the Time 43 % No answer 14 Rate this statement: I respect my own decisions even when dealing with peer pressure.

Pre % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 36 % All the Time 55 % No answer: 9 Post % Not at all 14 % Sometimes 43 % All the Time 43 % No answer 0 Complete this statement: I am trustworthy and see myself as a __. Follower, Equal, Leader Pre % Follower 9 % Equal 30 % Leader 52 % No answer: 9 Post % Follower 14 % Equal 43 % Leader 43 % No answer: 0 Have you ever been bullied? % Yes 27 % No 73 % No Answer 0 Have you ever seen someone being bullied? % Yes 91 % No 9 % No Answer 0 Did you do anything? % Yes 36 % No 64 % No Answer 0

% Other 0

Did you learn something in the workshop that will help you deal with bullying?

Post % Yes 71 % No 29 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: Yes because I learned that bullying is wrong and help if ya see it. / Being careful.

After attending the character education workshop and learning about compassion, if you saw someone being bullied, would you do something?

Post % Yes 71 % No 29 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: Yea. / I don’t know them.

Did you learn any skills, such as respect or responsibility, to help you make your own decisions not based on Peer Pressure?

Post % Yes 86 % No 14 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: Umm, yea citizenship. / I already learn about this stuff.

What do you think about color?

What % gave more thought and shared them about color.

Pre 45% Post 71% Thoughts Shared: Pre: First thing about color is black, grey, red, and white. / Nothing. / Yes purple. / IDK / Nothing, no. / Cool. / There are a lot of colors in the crayon box. / No. nothing. / It’s cool.

Post: Colorful. / No, nothing. / Is cool. / I think its cool. / Art. / Just me. Black, red, grey, and white.

My most important hope or dream is. . .

What % gave more thought to their Dreams becoming reality.

Pre 82% Post 100% Thoughts Shared: Pre: Going to college. / Passing the 7th and 8th grade. / Hope I don’t die at a young age. / IDK. / To finish college and high school. / To finish school. / To be a mechanic. / My dream is to go to the Marines when I’m 17 or 18. / I don’t know. / To get stronger. / To be a ASSN. Post: Go to USMC. / To be a mechanic and get straight A’s on my report card. / Core. / Achieving my goal and becoming a core member. / Getting a good job. / Fishing school. / Living my life and going to college and high school.

One thing I learned in workshop that will help me reach my dream is: Post 100% discovered something new in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: Is do the important things first. / Not to give up. / Cooperation. / Pride. / That I should stay in school. / Work hard. / Respect.

Coming into the workshop, which Character Count did you want to improve or work on to help you? How did the workshop help you improve it?

Post 46% discovered something in the workshop to improve their Character Count Thoughts Shared: I don’t remember. / Responsibility. By learning about them. / Choices. / Get pride out of the way. / IDK / Citizenship. Not being mean to the environment.

What did you learn New in the workshop about a classmate or friend?

Post 100% discovered something new about classmates or friends in the workshop Thoughts Shared: They have the same situation as me. / A classmate never been. / We are all the same. / That nobody goes to church that much. / We have things in common. / Everything. / Naww, I still know about everybody.

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Thanks to Thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation, 15 young lives from Adobe Mountain Juvenile Facility experienced their Possibilities.

This workshop took place on February 1-3, 2016 - # 9 of 12 Opening up possibilities for the young minds of Arizona’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.© “Bridging Possibility” workshops.

Through stories, activities and artwork, Release the Fear’s Workshops will help students to:

     

Draw One’s Fears and Awaken Hopes and Dreams Stimulate Creative Listening and Communication Bridge Understanding Discuss How Color Affects Us and Our Environment Senses Heighten Visual Awareness of Our Environment Turn Pain into Possibilities into Purpose.

The students are divided into groups or teams that they remain with throughout the workshop. In their small group, the students may be asked to complete an activity, to share responses, or to reflect on an exercise. Often times these groups can have students with different beliefs, various backgrounds, and even opposing gang affiliations.

The workshop will end with a group created painting to be displayed for the public.

Participant Responses Participants are asked to reflect on several of the activities and then share with the group.

These responses are written in their words without edit.

The following responses are from the students who range in ages from 14-17.

The students are asked to reflect on the following question: How do you think this activity could help you in your daily life (In School, Out of School, or In Your Career)?

Who am I? : Trust. To ask question. Standing up for them when in the wrong. I can be trusting employee dealing with cash. / Coping. Thinking beyond. / People weren’t scared to step up. Using skills that you learned.

Speak up and don’t ignore. Change your habits learned by observing sciences. / That we are not alone. That we relate to one another, not fall into peer pressure. Knowing others are in similar situations. Less likely to bully others if they’re like you. To not be afraid of the truth.

Creative storytelling: Honesty. I can be trusted and not cheat, honesty. I can be a honest father hypothetically. / Teamwork. Strive to complete assignment, make effort. Coping, humor, don’t stress. Don’t over exaggerate, keep moving forward, perspective. / By being responsible. Avoid bullying by visualizing and speak up. Learning by observing others behaviors. / How a team of people can work together, co-exist with classmates. Team building experiences without problems. When we learn character traits, we can apply them in real world experiences. Teaches us how to be pro social in society.

Mirror Work: Look at Yourself in the eyes (ONLY) and tell yourself that you love or like yourself just the way you are: Awkward, self-conscious. / I love myself. Happy. / Alright I guess. Kind of weird. / Nobody will bring me down. / Handsome. / It makes me feel mad because of how short my hair is. / It makes me feel good because every time I look at myself, I feel confident. / Great.

Hero: Who is Your Hero and Why do you think are they important? What characteristics or qualities, would you or do you, look for in a Hero? God is my hero. I know he is important cause he made the earth and gave us life. / Hannah. Because they help me a lot. / I don’t have one. Sorry. / My grandpa. He has been there for me forever and hasn’t given up. / Mom. She helps me out through all my struggles. / Mother is my hero. She is important because she made me and she will always support me no matter what I’m going through. / John Elway. He lead my favorite team to multiple Super Bowls back in the day.

Through the Hoops: Struggle. Never give up. Never give in. Struggle come in life. / Teamwork will make the dream work. You need teamwork for school team projects. Cause you got a squad to back you up. / Get along with everyone, teamwork. Comprehend directions, trust, be responsible for my part. Step back or step in to problem solving to find a solution instead of fighting or yelling. Stay away from negative people, avoid trouble, cooperate with authority to find answers. Find answers by asking question. / How to complete a task as a group.

Teaching how to coincide with peers on one task. Helps discover techniques to work past the issue. Learning there is more than one way to handle a situation.

Seeing Beyond: Using your digits. Tunnel vision. Keep your 3rd eye looking. / Thinking beyond the future.

Writing, using your imagination. Not dwelling on the past. / Working together to collaborate, patience, and stay calm. Wait your turn, take a chance. Science, biology, math, English, social studies, physical education. To overcome your obstacles. Failure is an option. / How to work together to figure out what we do not know.

There’s going to be schoolwork we don’t know how to do, but can learn quick now cause we learned observation skills. There’s more to life than what the eye can see.

Drawing One’s Fears, Hopes, and Dreams and Sharing: Having dreams can open doors for you. Showing your artistic abilities in class. Sharing ourselves with others can help you relate and stop bullying. To try and follow up with hopes and dreams. / Recognizing and discovering parts of life that concern and motivate us.

Drives us to obtain interpersonal skills. Ex: saying what’s on your mind. Help to discover ways to resolve conflicts.

Knowing fears can help us prepare for disappointments that are definite in life. / Practice on drawing of your goals. Drawing your emotion. When you’re feeling some type of dread over your priority. / Realization of hopes, fears, dreams, public speaking. To not be shy, participation is key. Don’t be afraid to speak up. Know other people are like you.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: Your inner voice can take you a long way in life. Listening to your inner voice can help you accomplish assignments. Listening to my inner voice to help you achieve and make it in life. / To identify mental skills that will positively change the way you make decisions. Stemming from life as a kid into a responsible adult. School is a place where mental conflicts of decision take place and intuition can now help us execute a successful plan. Intuition can take place every day in life and with proper thinking skills we can take the right paths. / To listen, focus, be open and honest. Pay attention. Learn how to read people. / Listen to your gut, making the right choice can make a difference. Do what you feel is right and listen to your gut. Be honest with yourself.

We all can remember a time when we did not listen to our Intuition or Inner Voice. We would like you to think of an example when you did follow your Intuition. What can you learn from this situation? When something (my intuition) told me to go to my girlfriend’s house when she didn’t answer my text/calls. Her grandpa got sick and she needed me to be there for her. Always trust your gut feeling when something seems/feels wrong, it probably is. / When I felt the cops were watching me. I should’ve ran to my sister’s house. / When I was thinking about committing a crime, my inner voice told me no but I still did it. Listen to my inner voice more often. / When I was about to fight, my mind was going in circles about hitting the person. That my gut feeling can help. / When I broke the law and got sent here. Decisions are what determines life’s outcome. / I really don’t know cause most of the time my gut tells me not to do something, I go ahead and do it. 99.9% of the time it leads to more problems. / When I came back I had an inner voice telling me to do bad and get out til I’m 18.

And my release date got pushed back. That going by your gut feeling can also be good instead of bad.

Funded By: The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation Date: February 1-3, 2016 Location: Adobe Mountain Juvenile Facility %Male 100

%Female 0

Ages 14-17

Do you think others (Kids my age, older & younger, Adults) have the same Fear as I do?

Pre %YES 50 %NO 45 %Other 5 % No answer 0 Post %YES 73 %NO 27 %Other 0 % No answer 0 Rate this statement: You feel comfortable speaking in front of others.

Pre % Not at all 10 % Sometimes 80 % All the Time 10 % No answer 0 Post % Not at all 27 % Sometimes 46 % All the Time 27 % No answer 0 Rate this statement: I believe I can make my hopes and/or dreams come true.

Pre % Not at all 5 % Sometimes 33 % All the Time 62 % No answer 0 Post % Not at all 13 % Sometimes 47 % All the Time 40 % No answer 0 Rate this statement: I respect my own decisions even when dealing with peer pressure.

Pre % Not at all 5 % Sometimes 50 % All the Time 45 % No answer: 0 Post % Not at all 13 % Sometimes 47 % All the Time 40 % No answer 0 Complete this statement: I am trustworthy and see myself as a __. Follower, Equal, Leader Pre % Follower 5 % Equal 33 % Leader 62 % No answer: 0 Post % Follower 13 % Equal 40 % Leader 47 % No answer: 0 Have you ever been bullied? % Yes 45 % No 55 % No Answer 0 Have you ever seen someone being bullied? % Yes 80 % No 15 % No Answer 5 Did you do anything? % Yes 39 % No 22 % No Answer 39 Did you learn something in the workshop that will help you deal with bullying?

Post % Yes 67 % No 33 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I learned to talk about problems in the group. / I wasn’t paying attention. / That we can help them out with their troubles. / I do my own. / Intuition. / Don’t be shy. / Help them. / Talk to them about it. / Standing up for others. / By a girl. / Treat everyone the same and help your peers out.

After attending the character education workshop and learning about compassion, if you saw someone being bullied, would you do something?

Post % Yes 60 % No 40 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I hate seeing someone smaller and can’t defend themselves getting picked on. / I don’t need drama. / I would tell them top before Karma comes and hits you. / I do my own. / Depends on the situation. / Yes, help them. / Help out the one that’s bullying. / Tell them to back off. / I would back the person up so it won’t happen again.

Did you learn any skills, such as respect or responsibility, to help you make your own decisions not based on Peer Pressure?

Post % Yes 60 % No 40 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: Take responsibility if you being peer pressure. / I thought about it. / We can work as a group. / To do what I want. / Intuition and personal voice inside me. / Lots of stuff. / Think about your freedom. / I can do whatever I want on my own decisions. / Do what I feel is right and just.

What do you think about color?

What % gave more thought and shared them about color.

Pre 61% Post 80% Thoughts Shared: Pre: I only like the color blue. / It is whatever. / Negative / Color is a bridge to emotions. Yes I have thought about colors I like blue. / Go to college. / I think it is a helpful tool. / Yes purple and red. / Nothing. / It’s beautiful. / Its cool and mellow. / Yes, I think color is characteristics of all things. / Yes colors are based on emotions to me. / Say no to segregation. / Color blue is important.

Post: It’s amazing. / Color means many things. / It’s color. / Color is boring. / It’s a difference. / It means something. / Color is boring. / Same. / There’s a lot of color. / It’s color. / Good. / It can have different meaning. / Color is ones feelings, it expresses in a way only you know. / We all shine in the sun.

My most important hope or dream is. . .

What % gave more thought to their Dreams becoming reality.

Pre 94% Post 93% Thoughts Shared: Pre: I don’t have one yet. / Work on construction and help out my mother. / To play pro. / To be successful / Being successful / I want to be an aviation mechanic in the military. / An electrical engineer. / My dream is to go to college and do sports medicine. / To be a pornstar. / I pray to become a barber and take care of my family. / To own my own business. / Making my mom happy. / To be close to God and become a police officer. / Be a good father. / To be a great dad. / To become a music composer/singer and sign a contract like my older sister. / Underwater welding.

Post: A comedian / Succeed in my education. / To be what I want. / Nothing. / Prove my mom wrong that I could make it. / My dream is to work on construction. / Think. / I have lots of dreams. / Being a man of God and becoming a police officer. / To go to college and graduate high school. / Auto shop. / Finishing high school. / USMC. / To being a great dad. / Going to heaven.

One thing I learned in workshop that will help me reach my dream is: Post 87% discovered something new in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: Laugh, dreams. / Respect my own decision and thoughts. / Don’t give up. / Nothing. / My family’s support. / Follow along with it. / Think. / Nothing helped. / Listen to my self. / To overcome my dream. / Respect. / Work as a group. / Patience. / Talking in front of groups. / Believe.

Coming into the workshop, which Character Count did you want to improve or work on to help you? How did the workshop help you improve it?

Post 73% discovered something in the workshop to improve their Character Count Thoughts Shared: Fairness. I was fair with every group. / Respect. / Listening, yes. / I don’t know. / It did not help. / Learn to not doubt myself and it helped me release the fear. / Respect. / It didn’t. / Judging. / Be something in life. To get along with my peers and never be shy. / Responsibility. / Being caring. / Didn’t. / I want to work on all them. I want to keep on improving.

What did you learn New in the workshop about a classmate or friend?

Post 80% discovered something new about classmates or friends in the workshop Thoughts Shared: Everyone’s different but everyone is human. / Happiness. / We have all similarities. / Nothing. / That we’re all cousins. / Learned about different people. / We all have struggles and fears. / Nothing. / There not total idiots. / It’s not hard to try. / We have some stuff. / We have the same troubles. / Think more. / That they have same issues as I do.

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation, 18 young lives from Adobe Mountain Juvenile Facility experienced their Possibilities.

This workshop took place on February 1-3, 2016 - # 10 of 12 Opening up possibilities for the young minds of Arizona’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.© “Bridging Possibility” workshops.

Through stories, activities and artwork, Release the Fear’s Workshops will help students to:

     

Draw One’s Fears and Awaken Hopes and Dreams Stimulate Creative Listening and Communication Bridge Understanding Discuss How Color Affects Us and Our Environment Senses Heighten Visual Awareness of Our Environment Turn Pain into Possibilities into Purpose.

The students are divided into groups or teams that they remain with throughout the workshop. In their small group, the students may be asked to complete an activity, to share responses, or to reflect on an exercise. Often times these groups can have students with different beliefs, various backgrounds, and even opposing gang affiliations.

The workshop will end with a group created painting to be displayed for the public.

Participant Responses Participants are asked to reflect on several of the activities and then share with the group.

These responses are written in their words without edit.

The following responses are from the students who range in ages from 15-17.

The students are asked to reflect on the following question: How do you think this activity could help you in your daily life (In School, Out of School, or In Your Career)?

Creative story telling: Teamwork being mindful of other people. Listening to what people have to say. Because people need to be listened to. Because you can’t always want what you want , you need to have help. / We can figure it out. How to be creative. Have someone you can trust. Speak up and speak out.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: How to cope with certain things. It will help to cope with bullying. With coping skills it will help with school. Being successful in the future. / How to reflect on self. Learn from mistakes, suspensions, etc. Show leadership. Learn from the past. / Learn from mistakes. If you’re doing tests you are going to make a mistake, don’t give up ask for help. Everybody is going to make a mistake, just get back up and don’t look back.

Mirror Work: Look at Yourself in the eyes (ONLY) and tell yourself that you love or like yourself just the way you are: It makes me feel happy, and it makes me see good about myself. / I think truthful. / It makes me feel nice. / Weird because I don’t like talking to myself, but better because I know I love myself. / It makes me feel very good at looking at myself. / Makes me feel confident and happy. / I’m happy with the way I look. / Happy and normal. / Myself.

Hero: Who is Your Hero and Why do you think are they important? What characteristics or qualities, would you or do you, look for in a Hero? My hero is my dad because he has been there for me and never left me alone. / God. Because he’s God. / Mom because she doesn’t give up on me. / My hero is my mom. She was and always be there for me. / My hero is me.

Because I’m important to this world. / My mom. Because she was there for me my whole life. / My dad because he put food on the table for my family. / Mom because she is there for me. / My brother because he helps me and he is family.

Through the Hoops: Skills or Tools Learned: No answers given for this question.

Seeing Beyond: Skills or tools Learned: How to imagine more. Math because you could solve the problem in your head. How to imagine your future better. / Mindful using your mind. Science because when you’re doing a project you have to be mindful of what you’re doing. You have to be mindful of the role and work everything that could cause an accident. / How to observe things by touch. Art. Common sense.

Drawing One’s Fears, Hopes, and Dreams and Sharing: Teamwork. Working with partners. Help out. Helping other people.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: How to reflect on self -experiences both good and bad. If I get a bad grade, use it as a motivation. When something bad happens, take it as an experience. / There is always a way to cope with stuff. There are positive and negative situations. Where there is positive there’s a negative, and where there is a negative there is a positive. / You have to work as a team and use your mind. When you start school you’re going to need help and to get that help you’re going to have to work as a team if it is with one or six people. You have to be mindful in life because if you are not, you’re going to have too many things coming at you in life and you have to crawl before you walk, it’s all about taking things one at a time.

Describe A Time when you had an experience that you perceived (thought/saw) as a negative, but through time or something you did, you perceived (thought/saw) the experience as a positive one. Draw on the other side of paper, a picture of how you felt about this experience. Draw how you felt at the beginning and how you felt when the change took place. Then, write about it below: When I gave a bum two dollars. I felt normal, good inside because I know seven other people gave him money. I felt good. / I felt good when I gave the homeless food. / I think when I got caught up and arrested. I came back I thought it was a bad thing but it helped me actually graduate.

RELEASE THE FEAR, Inc

®

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Funded By: The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation Date: February 1-3, 2016 Location: Adobe Mountain Juvenile Facility %Male 100

%Female 0

Ages 15-21

Do you think others (Kids my age, older & younger, Adults) have the same Fear as I do?

Pre %YES 44 %NO 50 %Other 6 Post %YES 59 %NO 29 %Other 14 Rate this statement: You feel comfortable speaking in front of others.

Pre % Not at all 56 % Sometimes 38 % All the Time 0 % No answer 6 Post % Not at all 21 % Sometimes 57 % All the Time 14 % No answer 6 Rate this statement: I believe I can make my hopes and/or dreams come true.

Pre % Not at all 31 % Sometimes 31 % All the Time 31 % No answer 6 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 57 % All the Time 43 % No answer 0 Rate this statement: I respect my own decisions even when dealing with peer pressure.

Pre % Not at all 19 % Sometimes 19 % All the Time 56 % No answer: 6 Post % Not at all 7 % Sometimes 29 % All the Time 64 % No answer 0 Complete this statement: I am trustworthy and see myself as a __. Follower, Equal, Leader Pre % Follower 6 % Equal 43 % Leader 44 % No Answer 6 Post % Follower 0 % Equal 29 % Leader 71 % No answer 0 Have you ever been bullied? % Yes 25 % No 63 % No Answer 13 Have you ever seen someone being bullied? % Yes 25 % No 63 % No Answer 13 Did you do anything? % Yes 6 % No 38 % No Answer 31

% Other 25

Did you learn something in the workshop that will help you deal with bullying?

Post % Yes 50 % No 50 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: How to cope. / Stepping up don’t be quiet. / Teamwork. / I get bullied. / Imagining because to see what others see.

After attending the character education workshop and learning about compassion, if you saw someone being bullied, would you do something?

Post % Yes 64 % No 36 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I would stop it there and then. / Tell them to stop it now. / Please stop now. / I would stop it. / I just hate seeing that. / Because he will be affected long term.

Did you learn any skills, such as respect or responsibility, to help you make your own decisions not based on Peer Pressure?

Post % Yes 71 % No 29 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: Responsibility. / I learned to count to ten. / Responsibility. / Trustworthy. / Respect all people. / Responsibility about my action to take.

What do you think about color?

What % gave more thought and shared them about color.

Pre 69% Post 64% Thoughts Shared: Pre: I love the color blue. / Weird. / That it gives life to people. / They are cool and colorful. / It’s whatever. / Gangs. / Certain colors make me feel good. / They are all different. / Just colorful. / Yes, I think color is important. I like all colors. / Colors make me feel good.

Post: Red is my favorite color. / Color expresses feelings. / The same. / It’s pretty. / Color expresses one another. / It means different things. / Color shows different character traits. / Everybody is different, but the same because it’s color. / That you have at least one favorite color everyone has.

My most important hope or dream is. . .

What % gave more thought to their Dreams becoming reality.

Pre 75% Post 93% Thoughts Shared: Pre: Is to die with my brothers, and to have millions of dollars in my possession with a beautiful female. / To be successful in life. / Make changes. / Be a barber. / Make my mother happy. / Get a job. / Is for my dream to come true. / Tattoo artist. / Football. / Music industry. / Become a soldier and a tagger artist. / To have millions of dollars and a mansion and a Nissan Skyline.

Post: Get back to my hood. / Being a tattoo artist. / Being successful and sporting my son. / To take care of my grandma and go to the NFL. / Become famous. / Music industry. / Be a farmer. / To graduate. / To be free. / To stop bullying. / Be with brother and have a lot of money to spend. / Family. / To become a rapper and give my daughter a good life.

One thing I learned in workshop that will help me reach my dream is: Post 86% discovered something new in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: Is to use my third eye and put mine to focus right. / Going forward. / Teamwork. / How to work as a team. / To do good. / Cope. / Be smart. / Be responsible. / Being focused. / Don’t give up. / Patience is a key. / Keep trying.

Coming into the workshop, which Character Count did you want to improve or work on to help you? How did the workshop help you improve it?

Post 79% discovered something in the workshop to improve their Character.

Thoughts shared: Believe in myself. / Be more respectful. / It gave me new skills. / Trusting. Learning how to trust others. / Because it got me to be a good team mate. / Control my anger. / It changed my mentality. / Trustworthy. / Teamwork. / It helped me by talking about turning negative to positive no matter what is wrong. / Responsibility. It puts decisions in my hand.

What did you learn New in the workshop about a classmate or friend?

Post 71% discovered something new about classmates or friends in the workshop Thoughts Shared: They have the same fears as me. / That some of them were willing to work with each other at certain times. / He is afraid of heights. / Trying to know one another. / We all have something in common. / Everyone is different. / That they want to change their lives around. / That they have something in common with me. / We have the same fears. / We all have something in common.

Thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation, 26 young lives from Kenilworth Elementary School experienced their Possibilities.

This workshop took place on February 23-25, 2016 - # 11 of 12 Opening up possibilities for the young minds of Arizona’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.© “Bridging Possibility” workshops.

Through stories, activities and artwork, Release the Fear’s Workshops will help students to:

     

Draw One’s Fears and Awaken Hopes and Dreams Stimulate Creative Listening and Communication Bridge Understanding Discuss How Color Affects Us and Our Environment Senses Heighten Visual Awareness of Our Environment Turn Pain into Possibilities into Purpose.

The students are divided into groups or teams that they remain with throughout the workshop. In their small group, the students may be asked to complete an activity, to share responses, or to reflect on an exercise. Often times these groups can have students with different beliefs, various backgrounds, and even opposing gang affiliations.

The workshop will end with a group created painting to be displayed for the public.

Participant Responses Participants are asked to reflect on several of the activities and then share with the group.

These responses are written in their words without edit.

The following responses are from the students who range in ages from 12-13.

The students are asked to reflect on the following question: How do you think this activity could help you in your daily life (In School, Out of School, or In Your Career)?

Who am I? : Caring, citizenship and confident. Use it to give respect to teachers. Become a bystander. Don’t stereotyping. / Confidence, individualism, presentations, activities. Stand up for one another. Job, college, university. / We all have similarities and differences. Stereotypes are wrong. Everybody has personal opinions.

We have to notice that everybody will be different in one way or another. / I’m an individual that’s different from everyone. Help others and be responsible. Tell someone that trustworthy or step up for them. Use the skills you learned in school to live a better life.

Creative story telling: Fairness, respect. Use it to give the respect on the teacher. Another student helping the victim. Respect others like you want to be treated. / Trust others. Care for others. Tell a teacher/adult. Stand by other’s side. / Trustworthiness, caring, responsibility, citizenship, fairness, , respect. We need to respect each other. If you respect someone then you wouldn’t bully them. By receiving opportunities due to your manners/discipline. / To have faith and be confident in yourself. To share out information with class and not be shy or anything. You wouldn’t let them build you down because you’ll know their saying lies about yourself. When you apply for jobs you will have self-confidence.

Through the Hoops: Responsibility, teamwork. Help others as they help you in school. Helping the victim with teamwork. Have someone beside you. / Teamwork, trustworthiness. Sports, group activities. Stand up for one another. Helps with trustworthiness. / Teamwork. If you work together then it might be easier for you. If you stand up to a bully together. Teamwork helps when your in a problem you might need someone else each other. / Teamwork, trustworthiness. You can trust your classmates or any adult. You could trust someone to help you out with the bully. Someone could help you with a struggle you’re having.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: Be special, think positive in yourself. Do positive task in school. By ignoring peer pressure in a negative response. Bringing yourself to stay up. / Don’t put yourself down. Have trust in others. Make your own choices. Motivation. / Confident, motivation. Feel good about yourself. Confident about your choices. Feel more confident about yourself. / Always have faith in yourself. To show confidence in your schoolwork. Separate right from wrong. You have confidence in yourself when applying for jobs.

Mirror Work: It makes me feel awkward. / This activity made me fell weird. / It makes me feel like I’m meeting a new person. / It makes me feel weird. / Weird. / It makes me feel special but is a little awkward. / It makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable. / That it shows them we love our selves. / It makes me feel weird. / It made me feel weird, awkward, and different. / Calm and weird and made me lost in my imagination. / Pretty awkward. In this activity this made me feel pretty awkward. / It made me uncomfortable because I don’t normally give myself compliments but some people give negative compliments so I believe them.

Hero: Who is Your Hero and Why do you think are they important? What characteristics or qualities, would you or do you, look for in a Hero? My hero is Messi. They help me be like them. My hero is La Mother.

They’re important because she stood by me when my dad wouldn’t. / Mario, Charles. / Mom and dad because they are always there for me. / My mom helped me succeed. / My hero is my mother. Because she always wants the best for me. / My heroes are my parents. Because they are always there and I can always count on them. / Superman is my hero because he is strong. No matter what he gets back up. Because they’re strong. / My mom, because she’s not afraid to be herself. She gave me life. / She is important because I can really be myself with no peer pressure or feeling left out and awkward. / Parents. They lift me up when I am down. / My hero rather is my parents, since they’d been my role model since many years. Be they’re parents. / Picachu is my hero. He is important because he used to get bullied and a couple years later you see him on tour, making videos, singing, getting fans. He’s just Phan-tabulous. / My hero is Ally or Evan mostly because Evan he thinks about the future and has his goals set up for him.

Seeing Beyond: Visualization, future. Art, math, and possibly science. In all these subjects visualization creates a blue print in your mind. Helps in your career. / To use our senses. Language arts and social studies because when you visualize what is happening. Follow descriptions. / To visualize. Art because you could visualize what you draw. Can visualize what you want to do in life. / To go by your senses. It could apply in school in the subject of math because if you want to build something you would have to know mathematics. Do the right thing.

Drawing One’s Fears, Hopes, and Dreams and Sharing: We learned to express our feelings. To be successful. By giving them love. By following your dreams. / Confidence to share. It encourages us to work harder, help bully re-think if it’s the right choice to bully someone and get in trouble. Open up so you can get opportunities for jobs. / To share out. You can learn to share your feelings. You might try and get them to talk about where they bully. If you’re able to talk it might help with the job interviews. / To express yourself by being yourself. Being around others. Confidently. To speak up for yourself. So you could know who you want to become.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: We show our ways to be trustworthy you can be responsible/trustworthy to students. Important jobs come with great trust and responsibility. / Trustworthiness. Care for your grades. Trust to get jobs. / Trustworthy and caring. You should care about your school work. No one is gonna hire you if your not trustworthy. / To be trustworthy and caring for others. Helping other people. You can earn people’s trust.

Write about a time when you were trustworthy or caring and helped someone else in a positive way. How did it feel afterward? Describe the experience below. One time in second grade everybody was mean to this girl named

Micheal. So one day at recess she was alone. I was scared to go up to her because I thought she had cooties because everyone said she did. I told her Hi, feeling awkward for her. Then we started talking about Handy Manny and Mario cars from that point and we became friends. / When my friend was on the goalie box and it was penalties and I had trust in him. When my bro needed help with his homework. / I helped Diego get up after he got hot with a cleat. I felt so happy and calm to see that he was alright. / I helped my friend Diego when his mom and dad were fighting. It made me feel really good. / When I used to go with my dad who at the time was in Michigan. For the summers I would babysit my little brother and sisters on the weekdays. / A time I was trustworthy was when my friends came to me for help/advice. Afterwards I felt magical. / A time I was trustworthy was when my mom gave me a 100 bill and I didn’t spend it. A time I was caring was when my friend Evan was wearing a binder for more than 8 hours and I told him to change. / A time I was caring was when I help people complete their work or help them with questions. Because they’re not smart, just like Jesus P. with caring. / I helped my sister with her homework and I felt like a big sister, like I am supposed to be, and I helped her ace her homework. / A time I was trustworthy was when my mother gave me a document and I felt frown up afterward. / When I was caring, the boys were playing and two boys were bullying another one. I stood up for the boy and pushed them and told them to stop and it felt good that I stood up for someone. / The time I was caring was when I washed dishes without being asked. It made me feel responsible for my own actions. / When I take care of my nephew. After I take care of him I felt awesome. / One day I took care of a friend’s brother. After that I felt great that he was surprised that I did a good job. / One time my mom trust me to take care of my siblings. While she was at work. / Watching my brother for my mom. / It was when this guy dropped his wallet and I told him he gave me 5 bucks it felt cool cause I like money.

RELEASE THE FEAR, Inc

®

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Funded By: The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation Date: February 23-25, 2016 Location: Kenilworth Elementary School %Male 58

%Female 42

Ages 12-13

Do you think others (Kids my age, older & younger, Adults) have the same Fear as I do?

Pre %YES 77 %NO 23 %Other 0 Post %YES 88 %NO 4 %Other 8 Rate this statement: You feel comfortable speaking in front of others.

Pre % Not at all 15 % Sometimes 77 % All the Time 8 % No answer 0 Post % Not at all 8 % Sometimes 69 % All the Time 23 % No answer 0 Rate this statement: I believe I can make my hopes and/or dreams come true.

Pre % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 38 % All the Time 58 % No answer 4 Post % Not at all 0 % Sometimes 46 % All the Time 54 % No answer 0 Rate this statement: I respect my own decisions even when dealing with peer pressure.

Pre % Not at all 12 % Sometimes 50 % All the Time 38 % No answer: 0 Post % Not at all 4 % Sometimes 42 % All the Time 54 % No answer 0 Complete this statement: I am trustworthy and see myself as a __. Follower, Equal, Leader Pre % Follower 8 % Equal 38 % Leader 54 % No Answer 0 Post % Follower 0 % Equal 50 % Leader 50 % No answer 0 Have you ever been bullied? % Yes 65 % No 31 % No Answer 4 Have you ever seen someone being bullied? % Yes 73 % No 27 % No Answer 0 Did you do anything? % Yes 50 % No 38

% No Answer 12

Did you learn something in the workshop that will help you deal with bullying?

Post % Yes 92 % No 8 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: To repeat is when I see it. / Some learning about bully in deal of helping others. / You can stand up to the bully if your trying. / Try to walk away. / Yes they told my to help the victim. / To help someone in help. / They taught me how to speak out. / You should be yourself, and stop bullying. / There is emotional activities. / It help me deal with bullying because it showed me to stand up. / To stand up for them or tell an adult. / To be better than the bully. / I usually do great when I see bullying. / To stand up for others. / You can be caring by speaking up and actually doing something about bullying. / I learned how to stick up for myself and others. / That to speak up and not be afraid. / I learned to stand up for myself/others and tell a teacher/adult. / What I learned was different ways to stand up to them. / Don’t watch, stand up for the victim. / Teamwork and patience. / To be fair and caring to others. / To tell someone and not just stand there. / Haven’t gotten bullied before so ya.

After attending the character education workshop and learning about compassion, if you saw someone being bullied, would you do something?

Post % Yes 96 % No 0 % No Answer 4 Thoughts Shared: I would stop the bully. / Tell the teacher or staff, maybe even stop the bully. / Yes, since nobody wants to feel that pain again. / Because bullying isn’t right, it’s like someone robbing a store, it’s not right at all. / Because they need help they’d maybe do the same. / The kid getting bullied would get hurt. / We shouldn’t put others down, we are all the same in a type of way. / It’s not right. / It is not right because it is not being a good person. / I would help the victim and is that doesn’t work I will tell an adult. / I hate seeing people being bullied. / We had this lesson for a reason. / I would because we all deserve to be treated with respect no matter our skin color or looks. / I would because I would want someone to do something if that was me. / To help them out. / I would help them deal with the bully. / I would do something because the victim would probably do the same. / It’s wrong watching people getting bullied. / It’s not fair to treat someone differently. / Tell them to stop or find an adult. / Because everyone needs love. / Its not right to make someone feel bad or hurt.

Did you learn any skills, such as respect or responsibility, to help you make your own decisions not based on Peer Pressure?

Post % Yes 92 % No 8 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: Because in bad situations making the choice that’s best for everyone. / Yes. Don’t listen to others, you have your responsibility. / Yes, with respect for your opinion you don’t listen to peer pressure. / Calm myself down. / Because I can my own decisions. / I don’t other people’s decisions. / Confidence. / I learned all of it. / It help because you don’t have to do what anyone says. / To ignore them and take your decisions in life. / Because nobody deserves to be bully. / I always good when it comes to peer pressure. / They taught us those things. / I could make a decision and know its for the best. / I learned how to worry about my decisions and how they’ll effect me. / To be more responsible and not to be bad just because you will seem cool. / I learned to gain respect and to have responsibility for myself and others. / Yes I learned these skills and how to use them. / Don’t do anything that you are not comfortable with. / Confidence. / To not make an important life decision when dealing with peer pressure. / Because they will help me block them out. / I respect myself and I always have.

What do you think about color?

What % gave more thought and shared them about color.

Pre 65% Post 92% Thoughts Shared: Pre: I don’t think about color because everyone is equal to each other. / It doesn’t really matter what color anyone is. / I think colors are like feelings. / I think colors are great and I really gave it really about. / Happiness. / I think we are all the same and shouldn’t be treated different. / I think fun to be a Mexican. / I think color is like a goal that we want to reach. / I like colors. / Whenever I think about color I see different varieties of colors forming a picture. / Blue and red. / I think of joy appearing in my mind. Without color it’s see, depressing. / Green, red, blue. / What I think about colors is that a color reveals identity. / Honestly I don’t care what color because you’re all equal, we are all just bones underneath. / I think color is just a color. Everyone is equal no matter what. / The skin color. / I think it shouldn’t matter what color you or someone else is. / I think color describes a person in their own way and personalities. / I don’t think of colors. / I think color shows who people really are. / Everyone is equal, no matter what. / Really don’t think about it because we’re all equal. / Red / All colors are great, all colors. / Maroon. Yes I thought about color.

Post: Color can be feeling, music, or memory. / Color can show different meanings or emotions. / Color can be heard and represent feelings. / Color is sound. / Happiness, fear, memory, goals, dreams. / Your favorite color is memories and your least is dreams. / I think it expresses me and other people. / That people should not be judged by color. / I still think color is color and nobody should be treated differently. / I think the same. / Color can be connected by feeling. / That color can show a person of other people and imagination. / Your color does not matter. / They say color helps you imagine. / I think that it means color has sound. / Color could be imagined touched and felt. / Color has sound and has feeling depending on what you hear or feel. / Color could represent different things or different feelings. / That it has sound actions, speak louder than words. / I think color explains how we feel. / I think color is great and I learned color has sound. / Everyone likes different types of things. / I still think color shouldn’t matter even though some people don’t. / Color is color. Everyone is equal. / It represents a thing or a person. / I learn that color shows our emotions.

My most important hope or dream is. . .

What % gave more thought to their Dreams becoming reality.

Pre 96% Post 100% Thoughts Shared: Pre: My most important dream is being in the pro soccer team. / To be a music producer. / My most important hope or dream is to work for Nintendo and help make, create, and test video games with the world’s greatest game company with Sakiria, Reggie, and the next Nintendo CEO. / My most important dream is to be a sports player. / To have a good paying job and an awesome house. / To making it to the NBA. / All my hope and dream are important. / To become a fire fighter or go to the military to protect my family the U.S. / I don’t know. / My most important hope or dream is to be a scientist. / That people wouldn’t be bullied and all bad can be good. / Go to the marines. / Passing life, completing college to become a surgeon. / My most important hope and dream is can get along with other country. / My most important goal is to be a ceo of a company. / I just want to love a normal life and be happy with a job. / Have a good job and family. / Is to help people and animals. / My most important hope is to make sure my feeling has everyth9ing they need. / My most important hope or dream is to attend college. / Stay me. / I would like to be able to work as a developmental psychologist. / My most important hope and dream is to become a fashion designer. / To live in a beautiful place and be happy. / Go to ASU, I can buy my mom and dad stuff since they been dealing with me for a long time. / Is to get good grades so I can go to a university to have a good job. / Save money. / I do not think I have one I just want to be successful. / To be a cook.

Post: Work for Nintendo and become Nintendo CEO. / Graduating college, completing it, and get a degree for a job. / My most important dream is graduating to Harvard University. / To grow up and produce music. / NFL or lawyer. / Is becoming a lawyer. / To become a pro soccer player. / To become in the pro soccer team F.C. Barcelona. / My most hope or dream is being in the NBA. And going to college. / Go to military. / Is to go to college and be in the NFL. / Is to be a scientist. / Is to go to college and get a degree. / To pass college. / Is to clear all bad and release all good. / I want to become a developmental psychologist. / Is to go to college and get the best career that I can get. / Is to be happy. / Is to be successful in life. / My most important dream is to become fashion and illustration. / Being successful and keeping my best friends with me till I die. / Is to move to Colorado with J.O., L.H., and C.O. / To become a physical therapist for the NBA, have my doctorates degree in sports medicine from USC or Alabama State University. / Is to attend college and have a good family. / Is to go to a good college, be successful and become a veterinarian. / Going to college and playing volleyball for team USA.

One thing I learned in workshop that will help me reach my dream is: Post 100% discovered something new in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: All the expectations that I learn. / I learned that never giving up will help me achieve my dreams. / I’m not alone. / Yes because there so inspirational. / Is to study here to focus around and learn. / Never think that I failed and get right up. / To not give up on that dream. / To be yourself To don’t let nobody tell you you can’t do that. / Always be caring. / To work hard and try my best. / Is to be responsible and to care for other people. / To be confident in yourself. / Respect, citizenship, teamwork, caring, responsibility. / Never give up. / Stay confident I guess. / I really don’t know. / I could learn how to be kind, trustworthy, and responsible to be able to have many more job opportunities. / I have to continue to pursue no matter the obstacle in the way. / To be confident. / To always keep going even through hard times. / How to be respectful, caring, and trustworthy, being trustworthy will help win my goal. / Reach your goal in life, don’t be afraid to do something. / Patience with others. / Is to believe in myself. / To make plans first. / To be open minded and don’t get hurt or let things get to you (but never did).

What did you learn New in the workshop about yourself that you did not know before?

Post 69% discovered something in the workshop to improve their Character.

Thoughts shared: The color in my mind. / I learned nothing since I already know about myself. / That I’m not alone. / Nothing really. / I liked to talk in public. / To be yourself and to express you. / That I like myself. / Nothing. / I learned that I am more helpful. / That many of us aren’t really that different. / I learn citizenship. / I am a good person. / Nothing, it don’t really teach me anything. / I am able to do anything I want and I could be helpful without knowing it. / I learned how to love myself no matter what others may think. / That I’m not as confident as I thought I was. / I didn’t really learn anything about myself that I didn’t know before. / Not to put myself down. / That I have a dream and how to react to it. / Afraid of domestic violence. / That I have more patience than I think I do. / That everyone has a third eye. / People have similarity and differences like me.

What did you learn New in the workshop about a classmate or friend?

Post 85% discovered something new about classmates or friends in the workshop Thoughts Shared: Jacob is scared of clowns. / They sometimes have the same issues as me. / That some have the same fear and personal things. / That some want to be in jail or prison and some to it has a joke. / They have different opinions. / That not everyone thinks or is the same. / That we’ve been through mostly like the same things and it wasn’t easy. / A lot. / I learned that some people has the same fear as me. / A memory, his fear, and his dream. / Some had a hard time when they were little. / That some think that they might go to prison. / Nothing, wasn’t really taught anything. / That some could have the same fears or dreams like me. / Many have lost a dear one due to violence and many think they’ll go to jail/prison. / I learned that we have some things in common and others are different. / That we’re all the same in some way. / That we all have situation in life. / That a lot have lost family or friends due to violence. / They are afraid of many different things. / That almost everybody has siblings. / That a lot of people list family to violence. / That they are open and honest. / That we are the same but yet different.

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

At the consolidation of this project on March 19, 2016 we gathered 12 prior participants in one or more of the 12 workshops in this project and instructed them to turn each one of these 12 -30 x 30 paintings painted by average of 18 students=(221participants) and turn them into one conclusive powerful statement. By approaching the canvas the same way they would approach a situation in life. By coming up and putting one expression on the canvas and stepping back and looking at it in a much bigger perspective and then approaching it again. One student remarked."It amazes me how each one of the individual campuses come from created different people from different backgrounds, different eccentricities. Yet we were able to come together and bring them together and create something beautiful as one understanding one masterpiece, almost like a metaphor for what we can do as a community,.. As the world." M .B. age 16

Thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts and the Herberger Foundation, 24 young lives from Sullivan Elementary School experienced their Possibilities.

This workshop took place on February 23-25, 2016 - # 12 of 12 Opening up possibilities for the young minds of Arizona’s youth for a brighter tomorrow.© “Bridging Possibility” workshops.

Through stories, activities and artwork, Release the Fear’s Workshops will help students to:

     

Draw One’s Fears and Awaken Hopes and Dreams Stimulate Creative Listening and Communication Bridge Understanding Discuss How Color Affects Us and Our Environment Senses Heighten Visual Awareness of Our Environment Turn Pain into Possibilities into Purpose.

The students are divided into groups or teams that they remain with throughout the workshop. In their small group, the students may be asked to complete an activity, to share responses, or to reflect on an exercise. Often times these groups can have students with different beliefs, various backgrounds, and even opposing gang affiliations.

The workshop will end with a group created painting to be displayed for the public.

Participant Responses Participants are asked to reflect on several of the activities and then share with the group.

These responses are written in their words without edit.

The following responses are from the students who range in ages from 11-14.

The students are asked to reflect on the following question: How do you think this activity could help you in your daily life (In School, Out of School, or In Your Career)?

Who am I?: Similarities, new things, honesty. Help us get along better, help make new friends. Help us get along better which means no more bullying. Better self-esteem. / Responsibility, respectful, honesty. Getting along with others, not to judge people for who they are. Stepping up for others, talking to someone. Being responsible for your actions. / Bravery, different, fear, hesitation. Everyone is different. Tell an adult. Help you not to hesitate. / Responsible, respect, success. Helps learn. Resourceful. Helps by being nice, having friends.

Creative storytelling: Caring. Care about homework and grades. Tell someone or tell someone to help. It’s like being respectful. / Character traits. Give attention, work together. Tell an authority. By helping solve problems, building confidence. / Confidence, teamwork, bravery. Have confidence to go up the class. By not being scared to tell an adult. By building your confidence. / Teamwork. When you need to work with a team. Surround yourself with friends. In life you have to work with people.

Through the Hoops: Teamwork. Working with others. Being respectful. Accomplishing your dreams. / Teamwork, citizenship, respectful. Working with others. To help people through their fears and have the confidence to go through their hoops to live their life. Make your way through life. / Teamwork, hard work.

Working together. Tell them to stop with friends by your side. Working hard with other people. / Teamwork.

Group projects. Have friends help deal with it. You can get more friends.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: Never say negative stuff about yourself and protect yourself. Hang out with people that really care about you. Being responsible. Know what’s best for us. / To look in the mirror and tell yourself you like or love yourself, to believe in yourself, respect yourself. Confidence, helping other to believe in their selves and to have the confidence to do or speak anything. To help take away their fear. To believe in yourself and achieve your goals. / Believe in yourself, confidence. By believing in yourself. Knowing that you love yourself. Helping you believe in yourself. / Confidence. You can present and get friends. You’re not shy.

Confidence to succeed in school/work.

Mirror Work: Awkward, weird. / It feels weird. / Me looking in the mirror it makes me feel sometimes glad and happy. / It felt hot. / It makes me feel better. / Weird. / Happy, good, wonderful. / It makes me feel different. / It makes me feel good. / Normal, weird. / It makes me feel weird, awkward, but good because I’m saying good stuff about myself.

Hero: Who is Your Hero and Why do you think are they important? What characteristics or qualities, would you or do you, look for in a Hero? My dad. Because he never lets us down by our self and tells us that whatever we do has to be successful. Responsible, respectful, kind, generously. / My parents are my hero. They are important because you could look up to them and ask for help. Respectful, honesty, responsibility. / Because they are special to me. / I think they are important because they help other people. / My mom. My hero is important because she helps me and others. In my hero is bravery, no hesitation, and that would be all. / Me. Because they help us. Good and honesty. / My hero is my family because they will always be there for you. / My hero is Stephen Curry because he persuaded me to play basketball. They are important because you can look up to them. Respect, responsibility, helpful, successful, talented. / Grampa. / Mom. Honesty, nice, kind. / My hero is my dad. Because he is taking care of me and my brothers while my mom is in Mexico. Successful, fights for what he wants, respectful. / Me, myself, and I. I love myself. I love my hero. / My hero is me. I think they are important because that person shows how. Happy, confident, proud and loud, respectful, caring, trustful, and responsible many more.

Seeing Beyond: Think about it. Science, art, writing. By using your hands or your head. / Had to think and not see creativity. Science, art, writing. Thinking outside the box. / Creativity. Art, writing. Thinking outside the box.

Drawing One’s Fears, Hopes, and Dreams and Sharing: Work hard to get to your dreams. Work hard to get good grades. Solve problems if you work hard. If you work hard, life becomes easier. / Truthful, honest, empathy. If you know someone has the same dream or fears as you, you can help them achieve their dreams or take away their fear. Talking and trying to make the bully understand. Learning that people have the same fears. / Confidence, not so different from others. Build up your confidence. Helping them know you’re not so different.

We’re all equal. / Creativity. Art, goals. Telling them you have dreams and they don’t. Goals, achievements.

Reflective Take Away Assignment: You could be trustworthy and caring at school. Do homework, not cheat.

Good things happen to you. / Caring about their family. Looking out for each other. Caring about environment, native, community. / Honesty, helping and caring. Being helpful and caring for others. By being helpful to people. / Confidence. You presenting good. Helps succeed goal.

Write about a time when you were trustworthy or caring and helped someone else in a positive way. How did it feel afterward? Describe the experience below. I my friend when he has trouble with a problem. / I was caring when

my bff was weak and couldn’t walk for awhile so me and Pricilla helped her. It felt good because I helped my bff. / I gave a slice of pizza to a homeless man. / Help friends out to buy snacks. It eflt good. / I helped my brother with his hw. / When I helped my mom clean. / Give my dog food and water everyday don’t get payed but I’ll still have to do it. / When I helped my sister. It felt good to be nice to her. / I was trustworthy and caring one time when my friend was getting bullied and I didn’t like it so I stood up for her and made a big difference and had confidence for the first time. I made the bully realize what she was doing wrong.

Funded By: The National Endowment for the Arts and The Herberger Foundation Date: February 23-25, 2016 Location: Sullivan Elementary School %Male 50

%Female 50

Ages 11-14

Do you think others (Kids my age, older & younger, Adults) have the same Fear as I do?

Pre %YES 67 %NO 33 %Other 0 Post %YES 79 %NO 13 %Other 8 Rate this statement: You feel comfortable speaking in front of others.

Pre % Not at all 29 % Sometimes 63 % All the Time 8 Post % Not at all 21 % Sometimes 58 % All the Time 21 Rate this statement: I believe I can make my hopes and/or dreams come true.

Pre % Not at all 4 % Sometimes 29 % All the Time 67 Post % Not at all 4 % Sometimes 33 % All the Time 63 Rate this statement: I respect my own decisions even when dealing with peer pressure.

Pre % Not at all 4 % Sometimes 58 % All the Time 38 Post % Not at all 13 % Sometimes 49 % All the Time 38 Complete this statement: I am trustworthy and see myself as a __. Follower, Equal, Leader Pre % Follower 8 % Equal 46 % Leader 46 Post % Follower 16 % Equal 46 % Leader 38 Have you ever been bullied? % Yes 29 % No 71 % No Answer 0 Have you ever seen someone being bullied? % Yes 58 % No 42 % No Answer 0 Did you do anything? % Yes 46 % No 33

% No Answer 21

Did you learn something in the workshop that will help you deal with bullying?

Post % Yes 96 % No 4 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: It help me to learned stuff. / Standing up for others. / I tried to help but the kids that saw they told me to back off. / Help them in the situation. / I just don’t see it. / Yes I learned that I don’t have to do bullying. / Have confidence in yourself. / Always helped. / Always help. / Talk to an authority. / Yes because I can help them. / One thing I learned is that always respect yourself and not listen to what they say. / Help others to not be scared.

After attending the character education workshop and learning about compassion, if you saw someone being bullied, would you do something?

Post % Yes 96 % No 0 % No Answer 4 Thoughts Shared: I would because no one should be bullied. / To respect others. / Help them in the situation. / Maybe it depends on who it is. / Tell an adult. / Go tell someone to help him. / I would defend them / To stop bully them. / Because it’s the right thing to do. / Because it important to be caring. / Yes because bullies are not different than us. / Yes, because its not okay for someone to get bullied. / I would stand up for that person, I will make a difference and make the bully realize things / Tell him to go tell an adult.

Did you learn any skills, such as respect or responsibility, to help you make your own decisions not based on Peer Pressure?

Post % Yes 92 % No 8 % No Answer 0 Thoughts Shared: I learned to respect others the way you want to be treated. / I learned that when you are trustworthy good things happen. / To treat all the same. / Keep on reaching for your dreams. / By working together and being responsible. / I just didn’t learn. / I have to be respect and responsibility. / I’m allowed to make my own decisions. / By being respectful. / Do the right thing. / That everyone needs the same respect. / Yes because we all need a little teaching here and there. / Because its easier to help you make a decision. / Yes because I learned that the character traits help.

What do you think about color?

What % gave more thought and shared them about color.

Pre 92% Post 96% Thoughts Shared: Pre: It’s a blob. / I think blue is awesome then there is different colors than gray. / I thought of being in red color all over my house. / I love color because without it things will be colorless and sad. / I think colors are very nice, it brings the world more joyful. / I think color is a good think. / I think that without color life would be boring. / I think of purple. / I thought blue because the sky is blue. / The first thing that pops up in my head when I think of color is rainbows. / I think color is art because without color is gonna be black and white. / I think colors are cool. / Hacen sentir mal a las personas. / Nope. / No because I don’t know what definition of color this is. / Blue is a sad color. / Colors are one thing I like because you could be creative. / I think color is for everyone. There is no special color for boys and girls. / I think color sometimes helps you express your emotions. / I think that is so beautiful. / Color is everywhere. / I think colors are color. / Gay pride. / I color is cool the world is full of colors and my favorite is red.

Post: Color can be your own feelings or helping others. / That they are still racist. / Color might help you think. / Que no los debemos de offender porque se sienten mal. / Color is what makes the world beautiful. / That color might help think. / I think that color is everywhere. / I think it is important. / It is helpful to imagine stuff. / I think color describes lots of things. / That color might help you think. / I learned that color might help you think. / That color might help you think. / I think about color if your black or white we are the same. / I learned the you could use it to see what you like. / I think sometimes color lets you see good stuff. / Blue because it makes me think about the sky. / That color does not matter look inside not outside. / I learned that colors make you think. / Color is like rainbow. / What I learned was that it is nice and colorful. / Color is not only to color it is to express yourself.

My most important hope or dream is. . .

What % gave more thought to their Dreams becoming reality.

Pre 88% Post 100% Thoughts Shared: Pre: My mom is my hope. / My important dream is being a wrestler. / I have a dream in my future. / My dream is to be a great artist. / The dream I have is having a best career to being a dentist. / My most important dream is to do a doctor. / To be an artist and a actor. / My most important dream for my future is become the best soccer player. / My dream is to help the poor. / I still do not have a dream. / My dream is that I wanna be a football player. / To play soccer. / No tengo. / My dream is to become an FBI for sexual crimes. / To go to college and become a t. / I want to sing and make it big. / To have a best career. / Being successful in school and be a pediatric for kids. / To do the career I choose. / Is that to be a soccer player. / I want to be a lawyer and travel around the world. / To be a good person. / To have a stable home with a family. / My important thing for my future is accomplishing my goals and having my dreams.

Post: My most important hope or dream is trying to get to college. / Going to college. / To be a singer. / Ir a la Universidad. / Achieving all my dreams and hopes. / Is to become a dentist or a fashion designer. / My most important dream is to travel around the world. / Dream because it is like your goals that you want to be ready. / Achieving in school. / My most important dream is to have a career and support my family. / Is that to go to New York. / My most important hope or dreams is to go to college. / My most important dream is be a soccer player. / Be a soccer player. / Go to college and study to doctor. / Being a mechanic. / My most important dream is taking care of my mother when I am older. / To build a house for the poor people. / Is a artist and detective. / Being a constructor. / Achieve my goals. / My most important hope or dream is becoming a tattoo artist and working or studying in a special school or class. / Hopes because if you don’t do what you want to complete in the future. / I think my dream will be soccer player.

One thing I learned in workshop that will help me reach my dream is: Post 100% discovered something new in the workshop.

Thoughts Shared: Being respectful and have fun with it. / Be yourself. / Do the main out. / If I don’t speak for myself no one will. / Work hard. / Have to be trustworthy. / Achieve school. / Keep on fighting for it. / What will help me reach my goal is that I need to work hard. / I learn is to never give up on your dreams. / Being work hard. / Thinking about it. / No te kindas. / Be responsibility. / To feel good about who I am and my life. / Having confident. / To be respect responsibility helpful. / The one thing that I learned is teamwork. / Courage. / Is to be confident. / Que debo de seguir mi sueno. / That love in the mirror and tell yourself you love or like yourself. / Is to work hard. / I learned that I’m not alone.

What did you learn New in the workshop about yourself that you did not know before?

Post 96% discovered something in the workshop to improve their Character.

Thoughts shared: That I love myself and to do the mirror work. / That I’m caring. / About that I was the best. / I like better working in a team than by myself. / That I can do it again. / That I can be a bigger and better help for people. / Look yourself in the mirror. / Be more positive. / Working together and in teams. / To never give up on your dreams and try to reach them and never give up. / I learn the workshop is being not to be shy at front at class. / My fear. / Keep going never stop. / I do not know. / That I really care about my family. / People have the same fear. / I learned to be respectful to every people. / I learned that your not alone in the world. / That I’m getting courage. / To not be shy in front of others. / Que debemos de seguir nuestros suenos. / I learned that your not alone in things. / Don’t be shy in front of others. / I learned that I have to respect myself.

What did you learn New in the workshop about a classmate or friend?

Post 100% discovered something new about classmates or friends in the workshop Thoughts Shared: That we all trust each other and caring and we know more now about them. / I learned that they also have fears. / About my friends. / We have the same fears. / That you could work with your friends and the classmate. / That they play an instrument. / Their fears. / Some facts about friends. / That they work together and be respectful. / I learn one thing about never bully none of them. / I learn is one friend is learn about responsibility. / The fears are the same. / Be respectful. / I learn that one friend has the same fear that me. / I learned that we all are the same because we all have fears. / Being helpful can be better for the environment in school. / To released the fear. / That some of them have the same fears as I do. / They have the same fear as me. / That they are louder than usual. / Que todos tenemos suenos que debemos conseguilos. / I learned that my friend is shes caring. / That they are louder than usually. / I learned that many people have the same fears.

Release the Fear, Inc. ® PO Box 3815 Phoenix, AZ 85030 www.releasethefear.org 602-818 6959

Thank you National Endowment for the Arts and the Herberger Foundation for this opportunity and for believing in our mission and vision, that each and every child is deserving to be inspired and empower with the tools to make better life choices. Today they are that much closer to finding their gifts they have to share with the world around them.

Most sincerely,

Robert J Miley CEO and Founder

Office- 302 W. Monroe in Downtown Phoenix Mailing-332 W. Lynwood Phoenix, AZ 85003 info@release the fear.org www.releasethefear.org