A tapestry has many different colored threads, textiles and textures that are woven together to make a beautiful, cohesive and inclusive work of art and community. Tapestry making, now a lost art, served as a concrete art-form, and a metaphor for how families and communities told stories about their lives and connections. Our communities are struggling to find ways to reach and touch young people and the events that are tearing at the fabric of their futures. Tapestries is a creative, and inclusive facilitation guide and offers exploratory support for advocates and centers that must begin to look at layers of losses to stay relevant in their communities, and with more diverse funding sources. Young people and the people that love and advocate for them can use the ideas and activities in TAPESTRIES to weave a colorful, and meaningful dialogue about change and loss and how this impacts development, ideas about their loss stories and as a foundation for hope. Appropriate for established advocates and for any program looking for relevant and resonant ways to interact and engage with new and diverse participants in grief support and youth development programming.
About the Author: Alesia K. Alexander, MSW, LCSW, CT is the founder and Executive Director of Project KARMA, Inc. Project KARMA Inc. is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization created to support at-risk young people aged 5-18, facing loss and possible gang involvement. The work of Project KARMA Inc. seeks to empower and celebrate the potential of young people in a positive and affirming way that promotes self-esteem, validates the impact of loss on social development, and offers an alternative to gang involvement and activity. Moved by the dedicated and unswerving care provided to her family by the local hospice in her hometown during the illness and subsequent death of her father when she was 24, Ms. Alexander Layne's work over the last decade has focused on at-risk children and teens in the school setting, specifically with children and teens that have lost a loved one to death. Her educational background includes a B.A. degree in Political Science from Hampton University in Hampton Virginia, and a Master's degree in Social Work from Florida State University. Certified in Arts and Community Practice from Florida State University, Mrs. Alexander Layne is the author of three resources for grieving children. Her first book Sunflowers & Rainbows for Tia: Saying Goodbye to Daddy (1999) reflects the African American grief experience as seen through the eyes of a little girl. Her second book, Un Mural Para Mamita/A Mural for Mamita (2001), is the bi-lingual story of a little girl that wants to find a way to honor the memory of her grandmother with her community. The third, and most recent offering is Dream Clouds (2011), the engaging story of Adam, a young boy living with the loss of his mother, and their connection through poetry. Tapestries: A Creative & Inclusive Approach to Grief Support for Youth & Communities (2013) is her fourth book. A licensed clinical social worker in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, she is the former Coordinator of The Caring Tree Program of Big Bend Hospice, Inc. in Tallahassee, FL., and has served as consultant to grief and loss centers across the nation. She is a former member of the board of directors for The National Alliance for Grieving Children. Mrs. Alexander Layne is a regular presenter and trainer regionally and nationally on grief, loss, inclusion, and at-risk youth development.