We recently had the honor of supporting The Art of Recovery, a Community Support Services (CSS) program that uses expressive arts to help individuals living with persistent mental illness. This program, hosted at the Akron Art Museum on March 22, raised support for CSS’s Expressive Arts Therapy program and the talented artists who participate in it. Its mission is to support individuals living with persistent mental illness and help them with the challenges they face on a daily basis.
As part of this year’s event, the Reymann Foundation was honored to be a Master Artist Sponsor and in recognition of that support, the amazingly gifted artist LaHaynes presented the foundation with a special piece of art titled “Inward and Outward.”
In describing the work and her approach to art, LaHaynes noted that, “Art is my own form of meditation. It allows me to escape to another world and is the best coping skill I know. Art has been the one constant to help me heal throughout my journey of life.”
The Reymann Foundation is proud to partner with CSS, whose focus on building communities supportive and inclusive of mental health resonates with our own mission to support and include the developmental disabilities community. We are also privileged to support LaHaynes, CSS’s Expressive Arts Therapy program and the many amazing individuals it helps as they work to overcome the challenges and struggles they face in order to live healthy, happy lives. By showcasing these clients’ ability to tackle the stigma of mental illness and celebrating the powerful impact that creative expression has in the recovery process, the program has a powerful impact on the communities it serves. Each art purchase from the show benefited both the artists, who received 75 percent of the proceeds, and the CSS Expressive Art Therapy program, which received 25 percent.