A generous grant from the Kjellstrom Family Foundation will help Rockford Rescue Mission residents heal through art and music therapy.
The grant of $5,471 will fund new Art Room chairs and tables to replace those worn out by heavy use. It also will pay for art supplies and other materials benefitting not only the Art Therapy Program but also music therapy in the Mission’s Performing Arts Center.
“We are so grateful to the Kjellstrom Family Foundation,” said Mission CEO Sherry Pitney. “Residents in our Life Recovery Program come to us having experienced addiction and/or trauma. We have seen creative expression through art or music contribute their healing through an increased sense of physical and spiritual wellbeing.”
On a regular basis, Mission residents spend time in the Art Room doing everything from drawing and painting to creating unique home décor and furnishings. Staff members and volunteers provide help and encouragement, often helping our residents —adults and sometimes their children, too — discover connections between their artistic expression and their recovery process.
This type of program resonated deeply with the foundation’s namesake, Janet Kjellstrom, with whom the Mission enjoyed a long and treasured friendship.
“Janet had a heart for serving hurting people,” Pitney said. “We know she would have loved seeing the growth of art and music therapy at the Mission, sparking creativity and deepening the healing process for so many of our residents.”
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