Arts and Well-Being Series, Part Two: How H.O.M.E. Supports Unhoused Families Through Creativity

Participating in arts experiences — or even just observing music, theater, or visual arts — brings countless benefits to a person’s life, including improved self-esteem, reduced stress, and stronger, more empathetic community engagement.

In part one of our series, we outlined the research that shows the profound benefits the arts have on our individual and collective well-being. But it’s the organizations that connect people to various artistic activities that bring these benefits to life everyday — organizations like Homeworkers Organized for More Employment (H.O.M.E.).

In addition to providing a shelter, a food pantry, and childcare services for unhoused or low-income individuals and families, H.O.M.E. offers creative studios with skillbuilding workshops in areas such as stained glass, woodwork, stitchery, and pottery. Indeed, art making is central to H.O.M.E.’s programming, underscoring the fact that access to creative expression isn’t just enriching, but essential to our lives.

A H.O.M.E. for All

H.O.M.E. was founded in 1970 as a crafting cooperative designed to help Maine residents from low-income backgrounds create and sell handmade crafts. While the organization continues to value the arts as a source of both well-being and income generation, it’s also evolved to become a hub for housing and economic support in Hancock County.

Today, residents can access shelter, food, and a number of arts workshops through which they can learn new skills and foster a sense of community. After creating original artwork in pottery, stained glass, or stitchery studios, shelter guests can then sell their work at H.O.M.E.’s gift shop to earn money and purchase goods at a low cost.

For H.O.M.E.’s participants, these studio experiences are a vital channel for self-expression, empowerment, and restoration. “Arts programming provides an escape from crisis,” says Rosalani Moore, H.O.M.E.’s executive director. “It allows people to reframe where they are and come back to the work of figuring things out or filling out housing applications with a refreshed mind.”

In this way, art provides not only an avenue for earning income, but also a therapeutic medium for working through difficulties and connecting with others. “It’s extremely challenging to be in a shelter and live with different people,” Moore says. “And people who come into the arts program often have some greater barriers around being in community. The arts can provide a release from that.”

Arts and Well-Being: A ‘Circle of Giving’

H.O.M.E. operates from a specific motto: “Serve first those who need it most.” “What that means to us is to simply help people in need,” says Jackie Perkins, crafts and activities coordinator. “It’s a circle of giving. You’re helping somebody, and then they want to help others.”

One way Moore, Perkins, and the rest of the H.O.M.E. team embody this motto is by offering flexible programming tailored to the needs of their shelter guests, which often inspire those guests to connect with others and share their skills. That programming includes:

• Community art workshops led by experienced artists. These workshops are free for shelter guests and available at sliding scale rates for community members.

• Small-group classes that start with the fundamentals of stained glass, pottery, stitchery, or other arts. Participants advance their skills gradually over time alongside other students and visiting artists.

• Open studio days, through which craftspeople can showcase their work and build stronger community connections.

In each of these activities, the work starts with the guests. “We really try to home in on what people want to do, and then we find ways to do it,” says Perkins.

Moore agrees: “I used to teach the pottery class, and part of my philosophy was having the students guide the work,” she says. “I have them learn the limitations and the expanse that pottery can provide. We start with ‘what do you want to create,’ and then we help them learn what’s possible.”

The Deep and Lasting Impact of Art on H.O.M.E.’s Shelter Guests

Following the shelter guests’ leads has resulted in an expanded arts program, which provides various opportunities for participants to realize the significant impact the arts have on individual and communal well-being.

“Art is a basic need,” says Perkins. “For a lot of people, it helps with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, connecting with people, being able to express yourself in different ways. It gives you self-confidence and the ability to cope better with things in life.”

Take Tori (a chosen pseudonym), a shelter guest who initially struggled with depression, anxiety, and bullying, as an example. After taking stained glass and pottery classes at H.O.M.E., Tori began opening up and expressing themself through their art. Soon, they started teaching Perkins to crochet, an art Tori used to decompress during anxiety episodes.

And what started as one connective activity quickly turned into multiple bigger classes, through which Tori taught other shelter guests. Tori even began creating crochet animals to sell in the gift shop. “You could just see Tori overcoming some of those doubts they had about themself,” Perkins says. “Even after they’ve found housing, they still bring items in to sell.”

Similarly, a shelter guest named Sean (another pseudonym) also found community and confidence through H.O.M.E.’s art program. Sean had a difficult time connecting with others in the shelter and often expressed feeling alone or isolated from the group. Perkins recommended that he take pottery classes, and after he did, he flourished. “His self-confidence was building throughout the classes,” Perkins says. “He could connect with people differently because they were creating art together. In the house, it created a more tolerant, kind atmosphere.”

Like Tori, Sean’s blossoming courage led him to teach classes of his own. After expressing his passion for origami, for example, Perkins immediately bought special paper and materials to enable him to share his knowledge with other shelter guests.

Moore and Perkins have seen stories like Tori’s and Sean’s play out time and again: A single parent uses H.O.M.E.’s art programming to help their children better understand each other. A neurodivergent shelter guest finds an avenue for self-expression and relationship-building. A shelter guest uses art to support their sobriety journey.

“It’s a place of infinite possibilities,” says Moore. “We can support people in their creativity and lives in so many ways.”

Art: An Essential Part of Our Lives

Going forward, Moore and Perkins hope to expand their arts programming to help more guests find channels for artistic expression. They’ll be hosting an arts show in Bucksport’s library to highlight guest and staff creations, and they’re discussing ways to bring back previous open mic and street dance classes.

These and many other arts experiences that H.O.M.E. nurtures showcase what the research says: Art has a profound impact on individuals and communities. By combining arts and well-being workshops with day-to-day essentials like food and shelter, the organization is supporting shelter guests’ needs holistically, caring for both body and mind.