CircusAid is a social development branch of HCT that provides free services for people displaced by war and natural disasters. Grounded in evidence-based practices, CircusAid projects help participants attain transferable life skills to promote greater success in unstable physical and political environments.
What does CircusAid do?
• Collaborates with local health and education practitioners, exchange ideologies and practice methods to co-create relevant service delivery of CircusAid programs.
• Supports local economies and workforce through professional development training and funding of trained practitioners allowing for local sustainability of skills and impact.
• Receives funds from HCT professional development training, workshops, and client services delivered to more economically secure educational and health institutions to enable fiscal autonomy and sustainability.
CircusAid Projects
Serres, Greece 2019
Community Health Project for Yazidi Adults and Children. In collaboration with ZHAW School of Occupational Therapy and Lifting Hands International
A Community Health Project for Yazidi Adults and Children residing in Serres, Greece. In collaboration with ZHAW School of Occupational Therapy and Lifting Hands International. CircusAid provided psychosocial support and life skills education by providing theatrical games, acro-balance, yoga, object manipulation, and performance activities to help heal the members of the Yazidi community that reside in Serres, Greece.
CircusAid provided 847 free CircusAid experiences to local communities in Lombok, Indonesia
CircusAid provided 847 free CircusAid experiences to local communities in Lombok, Indonesia to introduce occupational therapy practices and unify health and education professionals in service delivery for environmental refugees, at-risk youth, and women survivors of sexual assault.
Our Program Promotes Change By…
Training occupational therapists, social workers, mental health workers, teachers, global health workers, educational professionals, and circus artists in Holistic Circus Therapy.
Creating a multidisciplinary team approach to healthcare and education through fieldwork placements and learning environments.
Providing free services to refugees to increase resilience, mental health, and life skills, enabling them to make positive contributions.
Introducing new ways of implementing occupational therapy within socio-political contexts that focus on community health and the sustainability of the practice.
Introducing new ways occupational therapists can work in partnership with circus arts, marginalized and displaced persons.
Introducing evidence-based practices of integrated social circus and occupational therapy philosophies to promote global health in areas where social, environmental, and political unrest are present.
how we address core problems
The need for government, health, and non-governmental organizations to address occupational deprivation, trauma, life skills acquisition, and community health of marginalized populations, refugees, and people displaced by socio-political conflict.
A lack of diverse training for occupational therapy students, clinicians, and other professionals in innovative occupational therapy-informed theoretical and practical skills to enable greater capacity building for individuals and communities.
How We Address Trauma
Through physical activity, trauma is stored in cellular memory; primarily in the muscle and fascia can be released.
A mixture of cognitive and physical activities is delivered in a way that promotes mindfulness, ‘flow’ states, and presence, resulting in more inner peace, self-awareness, emotional regulation, and planning abilities that may have been impacted by the detrimental effects of trauma on the prefrontal cortex.
Through the experience of play, traumatic memories are replaced with more joyous ones centered around resilience, community health, and intrinsic motivation to create a sustainable impact.
What Our Service Recipients Think
“We close our workshops with a sitting circle where we give the participants an opportunity to reflect and share something that they loved - something that made them feel strong, proud, or happy, or what they feel best at. In very few words and with the help of some young, excited translators, we are hearing many remarks of happiness. But even beyond words, we can feel the pleasure they are taking in their accomplishments. The feeling of being seen and supported shines through their smiles.”
- Leah Barsher, CircusAid Volunteer 2018
"Working and learning with CircusAid this summer was absolutely life-changing. From learning the contexts in which Holistic Circus Therapy can be applied, to specific activities that work on a specific life skill, the hands-on training made me feel hopeful and prepared to use circus as a tool in my future occupational therapy career."
- Brianne Cody, Athens 2018
“The physical practices serve as our medium for providing these children and young adults with an opportunity and a structure to be challenged physically and mentally, to focus, to work together, to learn to channel their energy, strength, determination, and courage healthfully and productively, and to have fun and feel connected while doing so!”
- Leah Barsher, CircusAid Volunteer 2018