On Thursday, December 13, 2018, JF&CS held an introductory meeting for the IndependenceWORKS Artists Collective. This new initiative aims to bring the innate love of arts and crafts to participants in the IndependenceWORKS Program. Volunteers ranging from professional art therapists to local hobbyists will lead monthly art projects for the group.

IndependenceWORKS helps adults who have a variety of intellectual and developmental disabilities to stay active and integrate into the Atlanta community. The Artists Collective is a new stride with one-hour projects that can vary from painting,, to food decorating to tie-dying and more. The clients are already excited to get started – with Broadway fans and talkative enthusiasts; the new activity is a bright spot they are looking forward to.

While IndependenceWORKS clients have a variety of limitations, each art project will have a straightforward baseline – larger tools and nontoxic mediums, so that everyone can take part in the fun. While one client may work faster than another, or one may have trouble gripping a paintbrush, this means no matter their abilities, they can all enjoy each art project and see their hard work pay off.