Arts & Crafts with Kent College, Canterbury

We were delighted to receive boxes of arts and crafts material, collected for us by students, parents and staff at Kent College.

Last year, Kent College in Canterbury got in touch to share that they’d like to support Rising Sun through their Christmas collection. They asked us to submit a wish list of items, so our Children and Young People team curated a list of arts and crafts that they could use as they support child survivors to overcome the trauma of domestic abuse. We are absolutely thrilled with amount the students, parents and staff collected!

Shockingly, 1 in 4 women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime and in 90% of incidents, children are in the same or adjacent room when violence happens. 1 in 5 children have lived, or are living, with an adult perpetrating domestic abuse. This level of trauma in children’s formative years can have catastrophic impacts on their long-term quality of life and potential. They can become socially isolated, lack emotional competence, have low self-esteem and confidence, and limited understanding of risk-taking behaviours.

Our specialist children and young people team are here to support young people in come to terms with and coping with the impact of domestic abuse. They are here to listen, discuss and help child survivors process their experiences in a trauma-informed space, through talking, activities and play. This incredibly generous donation of arts and crafts will be used in these sessions to help young people explore their experiences, talk openly, manage their emotions and enjoy their sessions.

We have already received some fantastic feedback from our Children and Young People team who have used the arts and crafts in their sessions:

“The children always love the arts and crafts, and it’s a really amazing way for them to feel connected and relaxed in a session and to express themselves.”

“Often children find verbalising their feelings difficult, incorporating creative tools within the sessions are invaluable in supporting emotional regulation and self-expression. I have used the pebble sets for the children to show how they are feeling, which has been by painting words or pictures onto the stone.”

“The children have responded excitedly to the resources. The scratch art was used as a calming strategy for a child and the colouring in squishy toy is going to signify a final session and be a transitional object for one client, who will find this really comforting. A big thank you from the counselling team!”

Thanks to the kindness of Kent College, another young survivor can be supported on their journey to heal from their traumatic experiences and move on to live a safe, healthy and independent life.