In response to the  tornados, Manhattan art therapist Nanette Stark and CHART Clinical Director Dr. Gaelynn Wolf-Bordonaro have been facilitating weekly open art studios for affected children and families. The sessions, held Thursday evening from 5:00-7:00pm, are free for participants.
 

Text below excerpted from article written by Dr. Wolf-Bordonaro submitted to Manhattan Mercury newspaper..

Art therapy responses have been implemented world-wide following both man-made and natural disasters. Programming has been initiated in Thailand and India following the devastating 2004 tsunami, mainland China in the overwhelmed earthquake zones, in the Gulf Coast in response to Katrina, in California for evacuees of the treacherous wildfires, and in South Africa for young victims of trauma (see www.chartaid.org for additional information, or additional art therapy resources such as www.arttherapy.org). Mental health centers, hospitals, schools, correctional institutions, hospice centers, and veterans' agencies across the country recognize the value of art therapy in addressing the psychosocial needs of diverse populations or special needs groups, and community and private practioners increasingly provide art therapy with 'unidentified' patients who benefit from the creative and expressive opportunities presented through art making. As professional art therapists in Kansas we're pleased to offer this expressive and normalizing opportunity to residents of Manhattan. We're also pleased that this effort has been made possible without charge, thanks to local sponsors (including the Manhattan Area Arts and Humanitites Council and the Emporia State University, as well as international non-profit Communities Healing through Art).
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 I believe your readers would find the topic timely and of great interest; additionally, a story encouraging families whose homes were damaged or were otherwise impacted by the tornados to participate would permit the members of the community to take advantage of this service.

Interestingly, both of the project's coordinating art therapists have experienced the devastation of these natural disasters. Ms. Stark and her family, including two young children, cannot return to live in their Manhattan home until their home can be repaired. Just weeks before my family moved to Kansas three years ago, a spin-off tornado from Hurricane Dennis dropped a sixty foot pine tree through our home in Florida; reconstruction took more than two years. Our families' experiences certainly inform our passion for art therapy responses to trauma, and our volunteer efforts are heart-felt.

Most Sincerely,

Dr. Gaelynn P. Wolf Bordonaro, ATR-BC
Director, ESU Art Therapy Program
Director, American Art Therapy Association (AATA)
Clinical Director, Communities Healing through Art (CHART)