Gaining Health Through Creative Expression
Artwork by Stephen Honthy
County College of Morris (CCM) is the host training site for the Creative Positive Expression Program (CPEP) that trains volunteers to work with the drug courts in Morris and Sussex counties to assist offenders with pursuing a positive direction rather than being incarcerated.
Representatives from CPEP will be on hand at CCM’s Workforce Development and Continuing Education Open House on Thursday, September 6, to talk with those interested in learning more about volunteering for the program. The Open House takes place from 6 – 8 p.m. in the Student Community Center, 214 Center Grove Road, Randolph.
For those interested in volunteering as program facilitators, an orientation and initial training session will be held at CCM on Saturday, September 22, from 9 a.m. to noon in the Landscape and Horticultural Technology building, Room 109, located near Parking Lot 1.
CPEP, found¬ed by Dr. Rebecca Conviser, offers the opportunity for volunteers to serve as facilitators who encourage a focus on creativity as a positive step toward wholeness. CPEP is a multi-di¬mensional program of expression, including writing, poetry and art that allows participants to develop and tap into new avenues of expression. Those in the program work through feelings, past experiences and barriers, while creating a new-found appreciation of simple pleasures, finding undiscov¬ered areas of joy and gratitude. The introspective view of CPEP contributes to supporting sobriety and recovery from the addictions that led the offenders to sentencing by the drug courts.
The assignment and management of volunteers is overseen by the drug courts. Volunteers may need to be available to offer assistance during business hours. To register for the orientation and training session, go to http://webadvisor.ccm.edu, select Continuing Education (Non-Credit) and sign up for Course Code Number AHP-161.