Our Mission: to create community arts spaces that center people impacted by gender and race based harm.
Our Vision: equitable, accessible spaces where queer and Black indigenous people of color, including sex workers, have access to creative community healing.
As survivors ourselves,
we know how isolating trauma can be.
Avril Heals seeks to empower those who’ve experienced trauma with the psychoeducational tools to support them on their journeys. We also aim to remove financial barriers to community healing.
While we welcome all trauma survivors, our spaces are intentionally created to center the following communities:
BIPOC
LGBTQAI2S+
Folks who’ve experienced sexual harm
Former and active sex workers
First generation Americans and immigrants
Who We Center
Our Approach
Sometimes, the words to explain how we feel do not exist. So, at Avril Heals, we intentionally take a creative and holistic approach to healing that often deviates from Western tradition.
Transcending language and words, creative processes can serve as a more fluid form of expression. Art is one of our main mediums because the process of art making allows us to tap into undefined emotions and experiences our subconscious only understands through images.
While acknowledging complexities of how trauma can affect sex and body image, we use a sex positive lens in everything we do to empower survivors to feel more connected and present in their bodies. We recognize that folks who experience harm are not a monolith. Through a combination of sex positivity, art, music, movement and other creative healing mechanisms, we create trauma-informed spaces to foster community for folks at their own pace.
