Crafting Passages

For many middle-school aged boys, sitting down and talking about their feelings is pretty much the last thing they want to do.

These kids are often much better suited to a program where they can mature and grow through the process of developing skills and building something with other boys their own age.

With that in mind, Journeymen collaborates with the Asheville City Schools Foundation for its In Real Life After-School Program to provide unique after-school program opportunities for boys in middle school.

Each semester, we work on a different project with a group of middle-school boys, with the majority of this 10-week crafting program taking place at the UNC Asheville STEAM Studio or out in nature.

We work with power tools to help our J-Men develop carpentry skills, which gives them a sense of capability and an experience of accomplishment.

Projects we’ve worked on have included everything from meditation benches to birdhouses, desks, chairs, and even canoes.

Typically, the boys walk away with their own finished, hand-made project, and in the past we have also donated pieces to organizations such as Brother Wolf, the Red Oak Foothills residential treatment program, and Southern Appalachian Raptor Research.