Sutter Health Mills-Peninsula Medical Center Foundation Awards a $55,000 Grant for Expressive Arts in San Mateo County

With a generous $55,000 grant this year, Caminar will continue offering an innovative program that is a tremendous asset to clients’ mental health. Caminar is deeply grateful to the Sutter Health Mills-Peninsula Medical Center Foundation for the many years of support for Expressive Arts (EA). The EA program (led by a respected, professional photographer and an acoustic musician) serves as a powerful adjunct to clients’ mental health treatment. Participation in EA also builds community for clients, individuals now live in Caminar’s San Mateo County residential housing sites: Redwood, Eucalyptus, and Hawthorne Houses.  

Launched in 2014 through a generous grant and funded by Sutter Health Mills-Peninsula Medical Center Foundation since 2018, EA provides drop-in ‘art workshops’ and serves as a regular forum for clients to share their feelings about life changes, new emotions, and personal losses. In the setting of an EA workshop, program leaders apply trauma-informed approaches and assure client confidentiality. They set agreements with participating clients that EA will be a safe space to speak about the challenges that they are experiencing. In 2021, Caminar is adapting EA to new COVID-19 constraints and meeting goals using online formats that continue to captivate clients. We are developing videos as a new way to showcase our clients’ artwork in 2021. 

In 2021, the Sutter Health Mills-Peninsula Medical Center Foundation grant will help us to reach at least 20 clients and:  

• Present art and writing as positive coping mechanisms, outlining how creative expression in art and writing practices can promote long-term mental wellness,
• Enable people of all ages, including clients living with severe mental illness, substance use disorders, or co-occurring conditions, to be celebrated,
• Promote the value of artistic expression as an expression of caring for others and as a strategy that helps clients regain their agency and voice. In speaking openly with others and thinking creatively, clients can identify assets to start rebuilding their lives.

Caminar is deeply honored by Sutter Health Mills-Peninsula Medical Center Foundation’s significant 2021 grant. With their generous, renewed support, Caminar will continue helping clients to make progress on their healing journey. 

Please see some recent examples of client art here.