Access Alliance Arts for Family Health

Welcome to Access Alliance Arts for Family Health!

Arts for Family Health is a project of Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services, dedicated to promoting the role of the arts in supporting the mental health and well-being of newcomer individuals and families. Creative practices including literary, visual, movement, theatre, and sound arts can offer safe, culturally sensitive ways for newcomers to express emotions, process trauma, and build community connections in their new environment.

This digital platform serves as a central source of knowledge for practitioners, management, researchers and academics seeking to integrate or learn more about arts-based mental health interventions. By sharing knowledge and best practices, we aim to strengthen the integration of arts-based approaches across newcomer services and support systems.

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Featured resources

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Research Papers

Expressive arts therapy research

This research paper explores how newcomer women in Toronto, of specific linguistic and social identity backgrounds, encounter unique and unspoken challenges related to domestic violence and trauma.
HEAL Resources

Findings and impact

The findings highlight trauma-informed expressive arts interventions improved well-being, strengthened coping skills, and increased knowledge, confidence, and safety among newcomer survivors of domestic and family violence.
HEAL Resources

Healing arts for newcomer well-being event

This set of documents summarizes the purpose, context, and key learnings behind the Healing Arts for Newcomer Family Wellbeing event.
How to Guides

Hiring arts-based facilitators

Hiring art based facilitators are essential for the sustainability for expressive art programs, read more on how to hiring an art based facilitator for your organization.
HEAL Resources

Milestone reports

Milestone reports capture key moments in the development of the HEAL Project. They document progress each year, highlight successes, and reflect the growing collaboration across the arts, settlement, and healthcare sectors.
HEAL Resources

Planning documents

The planning tools offer a strategic framework, mapping program inputs, activities, and outputs while showing how expressive arts interventions support newcomer women who have experienced domestic violence.
HEAL Resources

Project glossary

The HEAL glossary is a practical resource for service providers supporting newcomer survivors, linking expressive arts, trauma-informed care, and healing.
Toolkits & Handbooks

Stepping up toolkit

The Stepping Up Toolkit guides service providers in delivering expressive arts programs for newcomer 2SLGBTQI+ communities. A key feature is its extensive, research-based literature review.

What's happening

Watch website launch webinar January 21, 2026

This webinar introduces resources and tools designed for practitioners, managers, researchers, and academics interested in integrating arts methods into their work. Hosted by Knowledge Hub. 

Watch webinar 

HEAL project summative report

This report reflects project milestones and findings from April 2022 to March 2026. It provides an overview of the main project components, the effectiveness, and shares findings from data collected from newcomer women survivors of gender-based domestic violence (GBDV).

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Collective gallery booklet: Notice, observe, and feel

These Gallery Booklets feature visual insights into 12 collective paintings produced from the HEAL Programs.

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Facilitated Training Booking