Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA) has adopted arts as one of its integrated health care, evidence-based prevention, communications, and treatment strategies to help serve persons with mental health, addictive disorders, and developmental disabilities.
NEDHSA is using “Art As Medicine” to explore new methods of healing through the exploration of artistic expression. Both creating art and viewing it are methods that can provide “medicine” for the spirit.
There is a new and profound energy swirling in Louisiana’s Delta. There is a sense of artistic revival happening. There is also a feeling of unlimited economic possibilities in the air.
Being a catalyst is more than words. Being a catalyst means implementing strategies that resonate with vulnerable people and communities. In our case, it means seeing improved regional population health outcomes, unleashed artistic expression, and economic opportunities for all.
NEDHSA Executive Director Dr. Monteic A Sizer said the agency “intends to help make Northeast Louisiana a regional creative hub, a preferred destination that will generate much-needed regional economic development, diversity, job creation, and more.”
“We believe there is medicine in creative expression, and the arts can help a person come alive in ways traditional treatment options can’t,” Dr. Sizer said. “We intend to help create an environment where dreams are realized, families are strong, bodies are healthy, community institutions are thriving, and spirits are renewed.”
According to the Americans for the Arts, 69 percent of the United States population believe the arts “lift me up beyond everyday experiences,” 73 percent feel the arts give them “pure pleasure to experience and participate in,” and 81 percent say the arts are a “positive experience in a troubled world.”
About The Artists
About the Collection
