Free Arts Part 2; Katie’s Journey
This is Katie.
(Katie Deaton)
Katie is an aspiring high school theater teacher, current dance teacher, and natural born artist. She also happens to be an alumni of the Free Arts for Abused Children program of Phoenix where she says she feels she blossomed.
Katie started out as a resistant teen at Free Arts and has slowly moved her way up, even snagging the position as assistant director at the last Free Arts theater camp, ‘Road to Resilience’.
(Katie & her boyfriend Jacob at the “Road to Resilience” performance)
Living Proof
“I’ve been a volunteer, a counselor in training, art assistant, staff in training, but this year I was really important…I went from being a camper to being second in command,” Katie told me as the oldest alumni of the Free Arts program, that her goal is to carve the path for other youth to volunteer.
“I liked being living proof that they can be okay, even more than okay.”
(Katie & co-teacher Danica at Free Arts)
Resistant to Resilient
At the age of 13 Katie was moved into a group home in Scottsdale where she was originally introduced to the Free Arts program.
She told me that volunteers would come out and do art projects with the girls at their group home and that one volunteer in particular named Wendy noticed that Katie was really into the projects and that it seemed to make her happy.
Wendy suggested to the staff of the group home that Katie and a few of the other girls be signed up for camp at Free Arts to which Katie was and surprisingly enough hated at first.
Katie told me that it was meeting people there that didn’t judge her for her past, that changed her mind and made her go from hating being at camp to begging to be in the next one that Free Arts offered.
No Sugarcoating
“When I got to the group home I hadn’t told anyone what had happened to me, I thought that it was my fault and that I was a bad kid. Theater camp was when I was able to open up for the first time.”
“I opened up to my mentor (Gabriel Cesar) and he didn’t sugarcoat anything, it felt nice. I told him my story and he just said ‘yeah, that sucks, I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say to you right now.’”
(Katie with Gabriel & another alumni, Gordy)
“It was nice to not be judged. It made me have a different outlook on people. That maybe I could be involved with people in DCS, that maybe there was hope, and that I wasn’t going to grow up and do terrible things.”
Empowered Through Theater
Katie just turned 20 and is doing wonderful things. She says as an alumni she loves how many opportunities there are to volunteer not just during the summer but throughout the year. She even spoke of a Free Arts day she was going to do a few days after the interview.
Over the past 7 years Katie has done at least three camps each one of those years.
“I like all the camps for different reasons,” She explains, “Theater camp was probably my favorite experience. It gave me the opportunity to openly express myself and walk away from it not feeling too crappy about myself but empowered.”
A new Outlook
I wrote about the theater camp that Free Arts puts on in part 1 of this article and explained how vulnerable these teens are as they share their stories on stage.
(Dance rehearsal at Free Arts)
I asked Katie what it was like to have that opportunity to which she said, “At first it’s terrifying… when you talk about child abuse and molestation, it could go really well and people could support me or I could get eggs thrown at me as soon as I walk out of the building.”
Katie also added, “It’s terrifying when you’re talking about it but afterwards hearing someone has been through something similar and (that) you helped them or gave them a new outlook instead of feeling shunned or put away, feels really nice.”
The Middle Ground
As much as a creative coper as Katie is she told me it wasn’t until she came across the Free Arts program that she was able to make the connections between art and cope which she called the “middle ground”.
(“Road to Resilience” performance at The Herberger Theater)
“There’s the kids that come in, the youth like myself, then there’s the people who do art with us, and then we are able to meet in the middle ground and can do amazing things. I drew a lot as a kid but it never really made me feel better until I started connecting it to other people and learned to express myself. The art is important but it’s the people who care unconditionally that made the difference for me.”
(Katie & the crew at Free Arts this past summer)
Katie confided in me that she used to be extremely shy and unable to even approach people to talk to them. She also noted that she knew she wanted to be a teacher but would have never considered being a theater teacher, which is her passion now, without her experience at Free Arts.
Big Sister to all
One thing that really touched Katie’s heart about her experience as an assistant director at camp this past summer was the impact that she says she had on some of the teens she worked with.
In our interview she became emotional as she told me, “I have three younger siblings I haven’t seen in seven years. A generous amount of campers came up to me, and were like ‘you’re like a big sister to me’ and didn’t realize how much that even means to me. I didn’t get to be there for my siblings but now I get to be there for all the Free Arts teens.”
(More dance rehearsal at Free Arts)
Finding her way out of a low Place
At just 20 years old Katie gave words of wisdom for those who may also have been victims of sexual or emotional abuse who don’t know who or what to turn to, “Don’t give up. Everything works out the way it’s supposed to. I really do believe that because if I hadn’t gone to Free Arts I probably wouldn’t be here today, I didn’t think there would be anything for me to do.”
“I was at a low, I was not willing or wanting to do anything else, now I feel like I make a difference. I know that if I wasn’t here today that, that could make a difference because I feel like I actually feel like I make a difference.”
“It’s hard, you feel like nothing is going to go right, you feel like there is no hope, but I think the biggest thing is finding your support group, even if it is one person, people who can effectively advocate for you. That was my biggest thing in the group home, I thought I knew what was best for me, but I was 13. When I joined, Free Arts helped me cope with what was going on and relayed that to the other adults.”
(Ruth, Katie, and her co-director Jessica)
Unconditional Love and Adoption
“There will always be someone out there who loves you unconditionally, no matter what happens or what you do and you just have to find them. I know for fact that Free Arts loves me unconditionally, even though my family couldn’t. Friends are the family you choose.”
One of those people who was able to advocate for Katie and be there for her during her first year at camp was a past employee of Free Arts named Ruth.
Katie said that Ruth was one of the initial people that made her change her mind and attitude about camp and fall in love with it.
She said that Ruth was there for her as a motherly figure in times where she really needed a mom and has even ‘adopted’ Katie by taking power of attorney over her as an adult.
(Ruth & Katie)
Creatively Coping; Bringing Light to Others
Katie says that she believes that finding a creative outlet is also extremely important in the healing process, “Even if it’s not art or performing or the things I like to do there are many other things that can make you feel empowered or special and give you something to do with your time that will positively affect yourself, your mindset, and others.”
That shy girl, who had lost hope, has become the epitome of what it means to be a creative coper.
(Katie Deaton)
Coming from a small town in North Carolina, Katie has made a tremendous impact here in Arizona and I personally cannot wait to see what else she accomplishes as she moves forward in life with the positive light she brings to others.
Katie, I am so glad you are in a good place. You are an inspiration. More people than you know love you!
Our world needs people who are skilled and brave enough to face the ugly side of abuse, Yet able to use their gift to effect changewhile creating bEauty.
You are such a wonderful, loving young woman Katie, let your light shine!
Katie. You are. Such an inspirationand your impact is felt by not only the kids you work with but adults that have. Been around you! Love you Katie! Darlene minkler