Tiles by CASTLE Kids

Art is a powerful medium, one that resonates with kids. At CASTLE every kid is given the opportunity to create a tile before they leave the program. They can draw whatever they like, as long as it is not related to glorifying drugs. The tiles reflect the world of the kid, capturing forever this moment in their lives. One of our clinicians, Al, has created the Tile Ceremony. All the kids gather in the common room, and Al climbs up onto a chair. Raising his hand to his mouth, he clenches it into a fist and pretends he is blowing a royal coronet, announcing the beginning of the Ceremony. “Doo do do doo do doo,” he sings, mimicking the sound of a horn announcing the coming of a Royal. The other kids laugh, hoot, holler, recognizing that one of them is about to leave our program.

Al says a few words about how proud we all are, acknowledging how hard this sobriety thing can be, and how far the kid has come in just this short two weeks. Peers are then invited and encouraged to say a few words about their friend, usually ending with an encouragement to stay sober, and that they will be there to help. And then the kid themselves says what they have learned, ending often with a pledge to not relapse, to not come back, and that if they can get sober anyone can get sober.

And then the tile, the piece of art produced by a kid who has sometimes struggled with IV heroin, perhaps has come from an abusive home, perhaps trying to break a deep and cloying family tradition of addiction, is handed to Al who is still up on the chair. He takes it and adheres it to the wall of tiles, a vast plethora of tiles created by the 1000 other kids who have made tiles of their own. They have become a part of the Wall of Achievement. And this kid becomes a part of CASTLE forever. When they come back to do a commitment, or to visit, or perhaps to be re-admitted, their tile will be there. They will never be forgotten.

In this small but meaningful way we continue to let our kids know that they are valuable. That they matter. That we have faith in their ability to stay sober. By shifting them from the inner isolated world of limbic dopamine, and into the pre-frontal oxytocin world of social connectedness, those tiles say it all. You are part of a community. Valuable. Respected. Connected. They have become part of the fabric of CASTLE, and leave behind a piece of their creativity and art, side by side with that of their peers.

I tell my kids that no one is going to scare them out of doing drugs. If the brain has to choose between fear and pleasure, it will choose pleasure every time. Art is a powerful medium and a great way to get a message across. A 2011 study entitled “Art messaging to engage homeless young adults” seems to agree.¹ At a drop-in site for homeless youth in Santa Monica, California, 24 homeless young adults became a focus group exploring the use of art, including flyers, music, documentary film, and creative writing. These kids responded more to messages that “…remind them of goals and dreams they once had for their future and to content that is personal, real, and truthful.” The investigators from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that those messages were just as important as the scary ones about the risks and consequences of drug use. Why not bring hope to these kids, remind them of their value, instead of trying to scare them straight? Trying to scare a kid out of doing drugs has never really worked, but hope and self-esteem, now that’s another story.

1. Art messaging to engage homeless young adults. Nyamathi A, Slagle A, Thomas A, Hudson A, Kahilifard F, Avila G, Orser J,Cuchilla M. Prog Community Health Partnersh. 2011 Spring;5(1):9-18.