Pictured above: Ceramist Brandan Meyer leads a Clay Experience: Healing Through the Arts session | Photo by: Ben Cleeton
When 15-year-old Dominic Tyler Jr-Pizarro first picked up a paintbrush at Restoreforlife’s Healing Through the Arts: Creating Connections through Healthy Communications program, he wasn’t sure what to expect. A few weeks later, he had a self-portrait he was proud of — and a new perspective on himself and others.
“I’ve learned to take in my surroundings and really listen,” Dominic said. “Sometimes kids get ignored or talked over, but now I make sure to stop and hear what someone else has to say — in school, sports and life.”
Restoreforlife, founded by Evette Williams, empowers families through kinship care, self-sufficiency programs and community support. Kinship care — when relatives or close family friends raise children — keeps young people connected to their roots and out of foster care. Yet these families often receive fewer resources and less formal support than foster families. When creative opportunities are scarce, youth can miss out on the healing, confidence and connection that come from artistic expression.
A $12,500 grant from our Black Equity & Excellence Fund allowed Restoreforlife to sustain and expand Healing Through the Arts: Creating Connections through Healthy Communications, which offers weekly workshops in creative arts, experiences and other art forms. Each workshop begins and ends with a healing circle — a supportive space where participants share their stories and reflections, process emotions and build community. This practice reinforces the program’s focus on healing through culturally rooted creative practices, ensuring that art is not only an activity but also a pathway to growth and connection.
“It’s not about having art experience — it’s about showing up as you are and letting your imagination lead the way,” Williams said.
For Dominic’s mother, Jerryka Pizarro-Lopez, the program has been transformative. “This is one of the few programs that offers something beyond sports,” she said. “We can talk about the art Dominic is making and how it connects to life. Art is peaceful; it’s another positive outlet.”
Family members are welcome to join in, creating a shared experience that Jerryka describes as relaxing and joyful. “I’m not an artist, but the things I’ve made here make me feel good,” she said. “It reminds me of how much I loved art in school. Now I get to be involved again — and I get to see my child having fun and learning.”
Photo Credit: Ben Cleeton
Dominic says the program has helped him become more open-minded and patient while developing communication skills. He’s learned to follow careful steps in creating portraits, shape clay into usable dinnerware and meet people from all walks of life. “I’ve met new people, tried new things and thought in new ways,” he said. “The skills I’m learning here can help me with my goals of playing in the NBA and becoming an architect.”
The sense of connection Dominic and Jerryka describe is echoed across the program. “We create more than art,” Williams said. “We create memories, build trust and nurture family relationships in ways that words can barely capture.”
Williams hopes to continue building on the program’s early success, noting that with additional support that spirit of healing, creativity and connection will continue to reach families across Syracuse — giving young people like Dominic the tools to express themselves, build community and dream boldly for the future.
