Outreach center holds gala for traumatized artists

On the eve of Veteran’s Day, Art Therapy Outreach Center (ATOC), a New York City nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free art therapy services to underserved populations who have experienced a form of trauma, will be hosting its annual fundraising benefit.

An Autumn Affair, on Thursday, Oct. 30 from 6 to 8 p.m., will include an exhibit featuring the artwork from two veterans groups, the first Photo Art Therapy Men’s Group and a women only veterans group. 

It will take place at the Carriage House Center for the Arts, 149 East 38th Street, in Manhattan.

Artwork by 9/11 survivors and survivors of sexual trauma will also be exhibited, as well as a digital exhibit sharing the artwork of male survivors of sexual trauma, at-risk youth, children in foster care and court-involved youth. 

In 2013, ATOC served 60 veterans with free art therapy programs, a 50 percent increase over the prior year. So far this year, ATOC has had over 450 contacts with Veterans including two women-only post-9/11 veteran groups, one male veterans group and one co-ed homeless veterans group. 

Two additional groups for homeless veterans were run in 2012. ATOC is proud to be one of the first organizations in the area to make available women-only therapy groups for female veterans. ATOC’s close partnership with The School of Visual Arts, historically recognized as an arts trade school for returning GIs, makes it a particularly relevant partner in this effort. 

All of ATOC’s clients have experienced trauma and have been diagnosed with mental and/or physical ailments, including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), drug addiction and/or homelessness. Half of ATOC’s programs are exclusively for youth and adolescents from low-income families while the fastest growing population ATOC serves is homeless veterans.