Young Migrants Build New Lives Through Theater

An Oakland nonprofit that uses art for therapy has a startling track record for helping developmentally disabled adults become prolific—and profitable—artists.

Childhood trauma such as abuse, neighborhood violence or the death of a parent has been found to lead to dire health and social problems later in life. How can communities intervene to spare future generations the same pain and illness? Special correspondent Sarah Varney reports in collaboration with Kaiser Health News on how the city of Memphis, Tennessee, is tackling the problem.

An ensemble of New York Police Department officers and members of the public are participating in a theater program designed to bring together the opposite sides of the nationwide debate on interactions between police and minority communities.

Uganda has some of the highest fertility and HIV prevalence rates in the world. Yet the government has banned comprehensive sexuality education in schools, and parents feel uncomfortable talking about the taboo subject. So Chicken & Chips, a television show about puppets, was created to educate the country’s young people about sexual and reproductive health.

Italy has had a huge influx of migrants, many of whom are placed in rural areas and struggle to create their new life. An Italian theatre company 'Teatro delle Albe' has helped migrants integrate by including both Italians and African migrants in their productions, helping to foster relationships and help migrants settle.

For many offenders, prison can be a tense, divisive, and anger-inducing environment, fueling the negative influences that landed them there in the first place and leading to high recidivism rates. Actor Tim Robbins - who once famously portrayed a prisoner himself - started a program called The Actors Gang to bring theater to inmates as an outlet for emotion and expression, breaking down barriers between former gang members and helping individuals to process their troubles.

With a national mental health crisis on the rise in the United States, many young women facing depression and trauma often tragically turn to self-harm or even suicide in an attempt to cope. The Ranch of Opportunity in Ohio offers an alternative in the form of a peaceful and spacious environment where girls are encouraged and empowered through holistic treatments, particularly music therapy, to find positive outlets for stress and fear, and to implement sustainable strategies for pursuing a healthy life again.

The refugee crisis in Syria is one of modern society's greatest diasporas. Syria's refugee children are not a lost generation, but the country's next generation, according to volunteers who want to prepare them for the future.

Some communities in Malawi are beginning to fight child marriage their own way—with music, dance, and a few tears, using theater to motivate cultural change.

Game inventors have created a new game to help students who suffer from ADHD and other mental problems develop and stimulate their brains in a safer, more targeted way than normal medicines.