NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — We know art has the power to heal and give people hope. That's exactly what's happening with a show taking on important subjects.
"I'm a photographer, a writer, a painter," a woman told me who prefers to go by just the name Elle. "Anything that's within the arts is something that deeply moves me."
Elle spoke between rehearsals of Fall Productions. A group took the stage, performing aerial dance and contemporary ballet.
"To see what's going on with me in the body of another through dance, there can't be anything more moving than that," Elle said.
"I experienced neglect, emotional abuse as a child, sexual abuse," Elle continued. "When I was married, I became someone who didn't know how to deal with my trauma. I started to numb myself with drugs. It effected how I mothered my child."
As part of Elle's journey, she came to the Healing Housing non-profit. They give housing and support to women in recovery.
"We have therapists," Elle said. "We have staff on at all times. Each woman gets to recover in a place that is safe, anonymous."
Part of what Elle wanted going there was a return to her creativity.
"The writing, the painting, all of those outlets, I stopped every one of them," she said. "When I lost those, I was in the dark."
"I feel responsibility for being given the weight of the stewardship of their stories," said Rebekah Hampton Barger of Fall Productions. "I feel that very strongly."
Fall Productions is working with the Healing Housing non-profit to create a show running August 7, 8, and 9 at Oz Arts Nashville. It's called Where We Meet.
In it, dancers perform to recordings of women in recovery. The voices include Elle's.
"The goal of this project is to build empathy, allow people in the recovery community to see their stories reflected in a way maybe they haven't been," Barger said.
"I have found myself again with hope, with love and belief in myself that I never thought possible," Elle said. "I hope every person who sees this, sees the hope. I'm hopeful, and I'm Elle."
For more on Where We Meet, visit here.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
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