BUSSW Faculty & Alumni Collaborate to Promote Art-Based Initiatives Empowering Black Women with HIV
In art-based therapies, patients have more active roles in their healing and can find productive ways to process their pain, especially for patients suffering from long-term and stigmatized illnesses like HIV. In an issue brief by the Black Women First Initiative, a team of researchers from the BU School of Social Work including alumni Melanie Rocco (SSW’21) and Mahlet Meshesha (SSW’19) and Profs. Judith Scott and Linda Sprague Martinez highlight the benefits of art-based initiatives to help Black women with HIV heal.
“Art can be a powerful tool to promote individual and collective healing,” say the authors. “Creating art can help with processing intense emotions and grief associated with illness and trauma, promote holistic wellness, and be a motivating factor in recovery. Participatory art projects foster emotional connections and can reduce social isolation amongst participants, be used to address stigma, and provide education to the broader community about a specific topic or lived experience, such as living with HIV. In addition to individual level benefits, the participatory arts can inspire social activism, engagement, and create community level change.”
The Black Women First Initiative is a project from the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health at BUSSW. It is part of the federal program TargetHIV, which provides HIV care resources for people who are unable to access it. Through government funding and online resources, the organization equips providers with tools, guides, and webinars to promote the best possible patient care.