In a quiet room on Chicago’s South Side, the music starts first.
It may be a familiar rhythm—something soulful, something rooted in memory. Heads lower, markers touch paper, and for a moment, there are no expectations, no judgments, and no need to explain what hurts.
There is only the sound—and the freedom to feel.
Through this program, participants discover the power of Healing through Art, allowing them to transform their experiences into creative outlets.
For Rachel Gadson, a Chicago-based arts practitioner and founder of a community-centered healing program, that moment has become the foundation of a growing effort to help residents process trauma through creative expression.
Through her program, participants discover the power of Healing through Art, allowing them to express their emotions and experiences creatively.
“It’s not always comfortable for people to talk about traumatic experiences,” Gadson said. “But when they sit down with music and art, something opens up.”
Her work is supported through Healing Illinois, a statewide initiative launched in 2021 by the Illinois Department of Human Services in response to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the national reckoning on race following the murder of George Floyd. The initiative was designed to address both individual and collective trauma experienced across communities.
Since its inception, Healing Illinois has invested more than $17 million into community-based programs, supporting local organizations that create spaces for healing through storytelling, dialogue, and shared experiences.
Now in its fourth cycle, the program is funding nearly 200 organizations across Illinois, including dozens in Chicago, with a focus on expanding community-led approaches to healing.
For Daniel O. Ash, president of the Field Foundation, which partners with the state to administer the grants, the initiative represents a shift in how institutions approach trauma.
“This is one of the first major initiatives to support healing practices at the community level,” Ash said during the interview. “Organizations have been doing this work because they knew it was necessary, but they were never directly funded to do it.”
Ash emphasized that Healing Illinois is intentionally structured to support ideas that originate within communities, rather than imposing outside solutions.
“We’re not prescribing what healing should look like,” Ash said. “We’re asking communities what they need and supporting them in building it.”
That approach has allowed programs like Gadson’s to expand over multiple funding cycles.
Gadson said her organization began by piloting workshops that combine music and visual art to help participants better understand their emotional state. The concept, called “Hear We Are,” encourages individuals to listen to music and translate their feelings into abstract artwork.
“We think about it as creating a visual record,” Gadson explained. “Just like musicians record songs, we’re recording our feelings through art.”
Workshops typically begin with grounding exercises led by therapists, followed by a period of free-form artistic expression. Participants are not given instructions on what to draw, allowing them to respond naturally to what they hear and feel.
According to Gadson, the process is especially effective in communities where access to traditional mental health services may be limited or where individuals may be hesitant to discuss trauma openly.
“Not everyone wants to talk about what they’ve been through,” she said. “But through art and music, it reaches people in a different way.”
The program has expanded from small sessions in Bronzeville to multiple neighborhoods, serving youth, families, and seniors. Participants range in age from as young as five to adults in their 80s, often bringing generations together in shared healing spaces.
Some sessions have focused specifically on families impacted by gun violence.
Gadson recalled one workshop where a participant, grieving the loss of her parents, became emotional during the session.
“She said she hadn’t left her home and didn’t feel like she belonged anywhere,” Gadson said. “But being there helped her feel connected again.”
Ash said those types of moments reflect a broader truth about the role of healing in community life.
“People can’t fully participate in civic life until they deal with themselves—both individually and collectively,” Ash said. “If we expect people to engage, to lead, to be involved, we also have to create space for them to heal.”
According to Ash, Healing Illinois also creates opportunities for connection across communities throughout the state.
“Oftentimes, people think the challenges in Chicago are unique,” he said. “But when you bring people together from across Illinois, they realize the issues are more alike than different. That connection is powerful.”
The initiative emphasizes three approaches: healing through narrative, healing through dialogue, and healing through place—each designed to help communities process history, build trust, and strengthen relationships.
In previous funding cycles, the program has engaged more than 17,000 residents statewide, with plans to reach more than 20,000 during the current cycle.
For Gadson, however, the impact is measured less in numbers and more in moments.
Participants often arrive describing themselves as overwhelmed, anxious, or disconnected. By the end of a session, many report feeling calmer, more grounded, and more at peace.
“There’s something powerful about taking time to sit with your emotions,” Gadson said. “Especially when you’ve been carrying them for so long.”
During Women’s History Month, her work highlights a form of leadership rooted not in visibility, but in service—creating spaces where people can process, connect, and begin to heal.
It is work that reflects a broader understanding shared by both practitioners and funders: that healing is not separate from progress, but essential to it.
As Ash emphasized, the long-term success of efforts like Healing Illinois will depend on whether institutions continue to invest in community-rooted solutions.
“If we see that this work is having a real impact—and we are—we have a responsibility to sustain it,” Ash said. “Because this is where change actually begins, in community.”
As Gadson put it simply, “We need each other.”