From Article to Action: Building Hope, Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism

Resilience and Hope: Exploring Immigrant and Refugee Youth Experiences through Community-based Arts Practice

“…Connected communities make for a greater likelihood of enacted empowerment, support, advocacy, exchange, and altruism between members. Community building, empowerment, and resilience contribute to a cyclical wellness model, whereby the three work together towards comprehensive community-sourced wellness, described as a 'critical element of hope' (Cadell et al, 2001;Catlett, 2017).…”

“…Adverse experiences during childhood can be a challenge to resilience development; nevertheless, resilience can be learned and fostered. The culturally responsive practice involves working with the individual's context and attending to dual language learners, cultural transitions and lack of family supports (Catlett, 2017;Croucher, 2009;Pearce, 2008). We acknowledge the subjectivity of wellness, that wellness has surfaced within academe in health and medical literature, as well as via critical models that recognize that wellness is a broad concept that considers the important factors of context, privilege and power, disenfranchisement, and access to service (Wolf, 2010(Wolf, , 2014.…”

“…Pearce (2008) discusses the role of social capital for newcomers seeking integration and inclusion and the importance of neighbourly trust as a feature of the experience of integration and belonging -that particularized trust in one's community can enhance experiences of belonging and inclusion. Professionals working with newcomer communities should consider the centrality that hope, resilience, efficacy, and optimism in those we work with (Catlett, 2017) contribute to community integration and overall wellness.…”