'If words fail, there are other ways to communicate'

Building understanding and empathy through artistic expression

I started the Learning from their Stories newsletter three months ago. Lately, as I’ve been thinking back over what I’ve written, who I’ve talked to, and the stories I’ve shared, I’ve realized that every person I’ve highlighted has told me about the importance of art in their lives.

While I didn’t expect art to be such a ubiquitous theme, it doesn’t surprise me.

Whether the medium is visual art, poetry, singing, dancing, theater, comedy (the list could go on), the arts are universal, understandable, visceral in a way that talking just isn’t.

Sandra Lomeli’s son, Rich, didn’t talk much about his interests with me, but when I saw his room covered with artwork of his favorite superheroes and animals, I understood his personality. A resident of Courage’s C2 apartments didn’t say much to me when I first met him, but when I learned about his interest in digital art, he spent the rest of our time together scrolling through his phone, showing me the characters he’s created, and opening up about …