"...This was the first child that I made direct contact with when we were setting up the Safe Space. She was sitting on a cot with her head down tears running down her cheek. I softly spoke with her and asked her if she liked to draw and she could barely shake her head, yes. I told her that we would be making art with the children and that when she was ready she could come over to the Safe Space and make art with us. This picture shows her later in the same day working with Lesly, building a house. The next day she was fully engaged with the new friends she made making art and on Saturday she was completely verbal and initiating a Halloween parade with the younger children......"

from Journal of Paige Asawa Ph.D., LMFT, ATR-BC

Art Therapist Paige Asawa in disaster relief shelter with two 4 year old girls.

"...This photo shows two 4 year old girls working with the art and expressing their experiences and their feelings. They used many forms of media over the course of the first day. We saw the same children every day....."

from Journal of Paige Asawa Ph.D., LMFT, ATR-BC

"...This photo shows Tammy working with a 4 year old boy as he explains how the fire surrounded his house. You can see the flames in red and the small self representation in blue......"

from Journal of Paige Asawa Ph.D., LMFT, ATR-BC

From the Journal of Paige Asawa, Ph.D., LMFT, ATR-BC:

 Friday, October 27, 2007 

"...Billows of smoke prevented the sun from peaking through as we caravanned to various shelter sites. (Photo taken from my car) Tent cities surrounded by rows and rows of heavy fire fighting equipment dotted the roads as we neared the deeply effected areas. Firefighters swarmed the tents ready to respond to any flare-up emanating from the embers still glowing among the ashes that seem to close in as we approached the Valley Center High School shelter. Several trucks were being off loaded at the front of the gymnasium providing food and water to the evacuees. Once the Safe Space was set up by the Save the Children volunteers we went to work making art with the children. At any given time there could be 20-30 children working at the three tables we had set up. The structured media provided safe containment for their strong emotions and experiences of evacuating their homes and surviving the devastation of the fire storm...."