Help Bring Expressive Art Workshops to At-Risk Teens & Young Adults

Ava Dodson
Jul 15, 2025
2 min read

The Downtown Youth Wellness Center (DYWC) is a Santa Clara County (SCC) Behavioral Health Program dedicated to promoting a safe, supportive, and youth-focused environment for young people ages 12-25. Their services include: brief behavioral health support; peer support; workshops; well-being groups; activities; linkage to services/case management (including medical and longer-term behavioral health services); life skills development; education and career planning; independent living skills; and other related care. The DYWC is a partnership between the SCC Behavioral Health Services Department and Alum Rock Counseling Center, a 501c3 nonprofit offering behavioral health and educational support services to youth (ages 0-25) and their families in under-resourced schools and neighborhoods throughout Santa Clara County.

DYWC wrote the following in a letter of support to encourage donations which help us continue this important work.

Crescent Moon Center reached out to the DYWC in January 2024 to learn more about the center and services. After meeting to see how we could collaborate for future programming, a strong relationship blossomed as we began to create ongoing workshops for the youth of our center and community. Starting in September 2024, following extensive planning and preparation related to the needs of our youth, Crescent Moon Center has provided ongoing expressive art workshops and attendance has averaged around 7 youth per session. These workshops have reached at-risk youth suffering from homelessness, youth on the spectrum, youth suffering from severe mental illness, and youth involved with Juvenile Justice.

Crescent Moon Center’s workshops provide our youth with a safe, peaceful space, skills for coping with stressful situations, and hope. Funding is needed to help Crescent Moon Center continue offering monthly arts workshops at no-cost to youth and young adults at DYWC in 2025. Their goal is to raise $15,000 to cover the cost of staff, supplies, and scholarships for the year. With your support, they can offer an empowering path to healing, resilience, and growth for our young people. Our youth negatively impacted by systems can have a freeing, somatic experience to explore self-expression and self-reflection through art and learn from their lived experiences.

We have observed the following positive outcomes:

● Stress management and emotional regulation skills

● Creativity as a form of authentic expression, self-care, and holistic well-being

● A supportive, empathic community through group discussions

● Healthy boundaries in relationships through respectful listening

● Identification of personal triggers and coping strategies

● A sense of accomplishment from completing a creative project

Crescent Moon Center is an amazing organization and we are incredibly grateful for their partnership, providing our youth with free workshops that create opportunities for healing, connection, and hope. DYWC feels extremely honored and fortunate to be able to host Crescent Moon Center’s workshops and wish to continue to offer this support for our youth in 2025 and beyond. Crescent Moon Center has our full support and is highly recommended.

Here’s how you can help: