Dec. 31, 2020

REFLECTING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD

The pandemic took an incredible toll around the world this year, and Memphis was no exception. The city was already ranked third in the U.S. for violent crime by the time COVID-19 began devastating communities. Since April, a local Memphis children’s hospital reported a 350% increase in violence in homes and communities and a 250% increase in depression and mental illness. At least 10 children under the age of 14 have been shot each month since the pandemic began.

The artists who formed Grounded all believe deeply in the power of creativity and mindfulness as a way to address pressing issues and trauma in our community. Our goal is to use the healing power of the arts to help put an end to the staggering youth violence and incarceration rates in Memphis. The pandemic has only underscored the need and importance of this work.

This year we have convened dozens of artists, partners, and community collaborators alongside hundreds of Memphis youth. We launched a Me and the Light Covid-19 response curriculum at East High School that consists of 9 active learning modules. We were part of emboldening a community during the most dire of times to create a ripple effect of creativity, mindfulness and healing.  

By the beginning of 2021, we will have completed the second pilot phase of curriculum. Over four months of active learning in this phase, our team will have collaborated with more than  400  students -- completely virtually. We were able to successfully evolve what was originally an in-class experience into something that’s turned out to be more meaningful and more impactful than we could have originally imagined within the virtual constraints we’re all experiencing.  

These students have engaged with and reflected on an array of topics, from mindfulness practices, to understanding how the brain responds to stress, to putting themselves in the shoes of peers who are currently incarcerated at the Shelby County Juvenile Detention Center. They have also actively responded with their own creativity and art -- the kind of action and participation we strive to inspire. Building upon the learnings of the first pilot phase, we evolved the curriculum to better meet the students where they are -- we slowed the pace and worked on ways to deepen student engagement.

Our local paper, The Daily Memphian wrote a longform piece on the launch of Grounded’s curriculum, and most importantly, on the incredible students and their ongoing contributions to our underlying mission. One of our Grounded Student Ambassadors, Abel Billings, even had his artwork featured on a national  billboard campaign. Exemplifying Grounded’s mission, Abel used creative expression to engage and activate his community.  The impact of the billboard was covered by The Guardian and Daily Memphian newspapers.  

Since launching  the curriculum in January, Impact Justice has been tracking and measuring the effectiveness of our work. They produced a report on the first pilot phase; they highlighted that Grounded’s framework, process and curriculum incorporates best practices from multiple fields, pulling from delinquency prevention, psychological and public health, education, and more. They noted the significance of our focus on establishing credible, supportive and trusted relationships with our community, as well as the curriculum’s adaptable design, providing students with the tools to address violence and trauma in their lives, including a network of adults to support them. One student quoted in the report said, “They actually believe in the power of youth voice. They invested in us and our city.”

As we enter 2021, we are excited share with you what we’ll be working on:

• We will be launching the third pilot phase of our curriculum in the spring of 2021. Each phase has improved upon the last, continually adapting to the needs of the students.

• Providing the latest version of the curriculum to incarcerated youth at the Shelby County Juvenile Detention Center is a top priority.

• Recognizing the tremendous talent of the Grounded 2020 Summer Ambassadors and their desire for creative engagement, we created an opportunity for the students to continue to expand upon their projects over the next year as Grounded Fellows. Collectively, they will also be collaborating on the “Be the Change Challenge” to activate youth to use their voice and their creativity to make positive change in their community.  

• Impact Justice will continue to evaluate the impact of the Grounded Summer Ambassador and Grounded 2020-2021 Fellows Programs, the next phases of the pilot program at East High, and revisit our extensive work in the Memphis Juvenile Detention Center.

• Grounded is currently producing a new film to follow their original productions, As I Am and Me and the Light. This project is called Be What A Bullet Can't Be.

• Over the next two years, we will work towards creating a web portal where the curriculum and creative content can be easily accessed and shared, allowing the opportunity to expand Grounded’s Me and the Light Community Education and Empowerment Curriculum as well as additional content.

We will continue to update you as our curriculum expands within Memphis and beyond. You can also follow us on Instagram at @GroundedinMemphis. Please share this news with anyone who might find value in it.

All our very best to you and your loved ones.

– The Grounded Team