Voices of Healing came into fruition in Spring 2022 and is organized by Ben Kirshner, Solicia Lopez, Lex Hunter, and Beatriz Salazar-Núñez. For a full history of our work see Tracking Our History.
Our Stories, Our Healing (OSOH) PAR Project: Spring 2023
In Spring 2023 Voices of Healing collaborated with eight youth/youth-serving community members from various youth organizations to launch a 6 week participatory action research (PAR) project entitled Our Stories, Our Healing. This project brought together local (across the Colorado Front Range) racially marginalized young people (15-25 years old) to explore their experiences at the intersections of healing and activism. The team interviewed community members about their experiences with healing to leverage research to honor the wisdom and their communities and to uplift community visions
PAR team members: Evangeylne Eliason, Chanelle Jones, Emran Al Ghareeb, Karen Nuñez Sifuentes, Jelie Jones, Aaralyn Zayas, Ceirra Noel, Soraya Latiff, Solicia Lopez, Ben Kirsher & Lex Hunter
Healing Justice Research Action Collective (HJRAC): July 2023
In July 2023, Voices of Healing brought together a racially diverse team of young people to engage in a collaborative, community-centered process to design a healing justice framework for youth development and education spaces. The framework aims to identify key qualities of spaces that foster and sustain healing and social justice advocacy.
Co-design team members: Emran Al Ghareeb, Paige Buchanan-Hall, Evangelyne Eliason, Jelie Jones, Karen NuñezSifuentes, Malachi Ramirez, Mateo Manuel Vela, Solicia Lopez, Ben Kirsher & Lex Hunter
Colorado Healing Justice Convening: October 12th & 13th 2023
We hosted an in-person Healing Justice Convening in Denver, CO to bring together key local community members (youth/youth organizations/activists) and national partners to co-create a healing justice framework for youth organizations and educational spaces. Fifty-five people attended representing non-profit organizations, schools, and universities. Breakout groups focused on questions about the design of education spaces, research and evaluation, and professional development.
These activities were supported by funding from the School of Education Placed-based Seed Grant initiative, the Renée Crown Wellness Institute, Women Investing in School of Education, the Spencer Foundation, and the Student Experience Research Network.
