Trauma can be triggered or heightened for youth who are detained in juvenile detention facilities, but one Chicago performing arts group is trying to help.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reports that 92.5% of youth detained in the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention in Chicago have experienced at least one form of trauma such as witnessing violence or being threatened with a weapon.

Since 1984 Storycatchers Theatre has worked with traumatized youth and teaches them forms of self expression through the performing arts. Youth create and perform their stories as a way to cope with their traumas. 

Catering to youth ranging from 13 through 17 years of age, Storycatchers Theatre assists teens held in Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, the Illinois Youth Center in Chicago –– a level 2 medium security male juvenile facility ––  and the Illinois Youth Center in Warrenville which is a level 1 maximum security co-ed youth facility.   

Kateri Halbleib, a teaching artist for Storycatchers Theatre, compared the theater to be a sort of safe-haven for youth who experienced traumatic experiences ranging from sexual assault to homicide.

Some of the youth involved in the program come from socially disorganized, high-crime neighborhoods. Oftentimes these youthful offenders are victims of gun violence, having been shot themselves or witnessing a homicide.

The theater group assists young incarcerated people release emotion and address fears triggered by trauma through performing arts, she said. Teens work with teaching artists who aid them in creating musicals or plays that revolve around personal experiences.

According to the Storycatchers Theatre website: “By moving beyond their histories, they transform their own lives, communities and people like you who are ready to listen.” 

As a nonprofit youth organization, approximately 75% of funding for Storycatchers Theatre comes from institutional support and individual donations.

Erin Espinosa, a senior researcher from the National Council on Crime & Delinquency, found that  although trauma is commonly experienced among all youth, boys and girls endure different forms.

“Boys tend to witness it like fights and shooting in car crashes,” Espinosa said. “Girls tending to more likely be the victim, it’s more sexualized, it’s more individualized.”

Traumatic experiences can remain engraved in one’s mind, Halbleib said.  On one occasion, a youth was able to vividly recall a situation where his mother was attacked during his adolescent years which served as the foundation of a musical that was performed by members of Storycatchers Theatre.

The teens understood, “this is a place we need to be safe with each other and with each other’s important stories,” Halbleib said. “Retelling the stories through theater is a way to sort of cope.” 

Changing Voices – a branch of Storycatchers Theatre – allows those who have been previously incarcerated to share their experiences with youth and the community. Similar to Storycatchers Theatre, Changing Voices emphasizes the utilization of art to share experiences while also teaching them skills necessary to advance in future careers though is geared toward 17 through 24 year olds.

Black and brown youth are disproportionately incarcerated in comparison to white counterparts, leading to racial disparities embedded within the juvenile justice system. According to a 2018 briefing, per every 100,000 youth incarcerated 4,618 were Black compared to 1,792 White youth.

Hableib said a majority of participants in the Storycatchers program are Black and Latino.

Providing youth affected by the criminal justice system with space where they can safely express themselves, establish meaningful relationships, and earn skills necessary to properly reintegrate into their community is one of the main goals of Storycatchers Theatre, she said. 

“These kids are working against the system, too,” Halbleib said. “We’re providing them with resources, but we can’t take systemic oppression down in one day. But I do think it’s a step towards the right direction.”

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