How are the arts re-igniting your community and sparking innovation and creativity in your local schools?

Because of how I am using my art form (writing and performance around substance abuse, alcoholism and other disorders), I am seeing the arts take a powerful role in educating young people about all the potential harms and dangers of addictive behavior that often begin in middle school and high school. With my play, Drunk with Hope in Chicago, and its research as well as the work I do with the Student Assistance Professionals at Caron Treatment Centers in the DC area, the arts are not only enhancing education around topics that can be either boring or taboo but more importantly the arts are making them more impactful. When I portray a young woman who has been sexually assaulted while intoxicated that can have more of an impact on a young person than simply reading facts and statistics. And with programs like this, more teens are starting their own socially aware performance groups. Using the arts to educate not only transforms how we learn tough or academic topics but also inspires students to be creative in other areas of their lives. Creativity breeds more creativity! For clips of the show and more information go to: http://www.tarahandron.com