Project Grant

Achievable change in knowledge, skill, behavior or condition: When a survivor arrives at the agency, one of our overall goals in their journey is helping the survivor get to a place where they see an improvement to their quality of life. Specifically, we would like 65% of survivors to identify they recognize their quality of life has been improved after they have been provided services at Anna Marie's Alliance. While there are many things that can be attributed to that improvement, certainly those who participate in the mosaic project will be able to leave a legacy of their experience to those who pass through the doors to the Shelter. Access: Resident will have access to supplies and an experienced guide who will support and educate throughout the process. Art classes, supplies and teachers are not often available to those with limited supports and resources. We will remove this barrier by providing this experience at the shelter and bring the activity directly to our residents. Learning: Residents will have the opportunity to play, learn and make mistakes alongside their guide. They will learn skills they can continue to utilize throughout their lives and in the process may not only learn a new skill, they may also learn more about themselves which can impact attitude and behavior. In addition, viewers of the mural will be a part of and learn from the community of survivors. Because the art is inspired and created by the individual residents, it will inherently possess and incorporate aspects of their own cultural heritage and can serve as a bridge to others who come after them. Community: Currently, the space where that transition happens is a cold, white, stark and has an institutional feel. Once transformed, the participants will have created a warmer entrance that sets a tone and creates a visual bridge to safety, support, hope and healing. It takes an incredible amount of bravery to reach out to seek support and shelter and the advocates meet that bravery and provide the survivor with the most positive experience possible. Each person will take a little something different with them from their experience. ; Survivors will have an opportunity to play and learn a new skill; identify an improvement to quality of life; and be a part of the creative process to convert an institutional space that will inspire safety to survivors for years to come. During a survivors exit interview, they are given the opportunity to evaluate their experience at Anna Marie's Alliance. The survey is voluntary, but this is the point we will measure their experience with our agency, and we would quantify their ability to relate their experiences to finding a better quality of life. In Addition, the residents who participate in the mosaic project will be a part of the vision and the creation of the body of art, and throughout the process will work with the artist to learn new and/or enhance their skills. Participants will complete a pre/post evaluation to measure the effectiveness of the project. ; Participants residing in the shelter will be offered the opportunity to fill out an exit satisfaction survey