Story & Timeline
Our Story
Founding – 2008 – 2011
Erin Jorgensen founded Mirror Image Arts in 2008 to “encourage positive body image and self-worth by creating an emotional connection through performance.” A survivor of an eating disorder, Jorgensen knew firsthand the power of theatre to process and heal.
Unfortunately, by 2011 the organization was in decline due to a lack of income diversity. At this time, Jorgensen’s personal and professional priorities had shifted. She handed the organization off to a new executive director, Andrea Rabold.
Transition and Expansion: 2011 – 2019
Rabold assembled a new board of directors and performed a community needs assessment. That assessment identified that while eating disorders are a problem, they are a symptom of an underlying issue. Here, youth, parents, and educators identified bullying – the link is in the statistics: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that victims of bullying suffer higher rates of behavioral, psychological, and emotional problems that can lead to dangerous consequences as self-harm and suicide. With bullying identified as a focus, we began to research preventative methods.
Research indicates that social-emotional learning (SEL) proves imperative to reducing bullying behaviors. SEL skills include self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and decision-making. SEL also helps young people to thrive in social and academic environments. Based on this research, the organization re-emerged in 2013 with a new mission:
“Mirror Image Arts uses theatre as language to inspire dialogue, encourage awareness and promote action in order to build a strong, compassionate and empowered community.”
In 2014, new programming that encourages Social Emotional Learning in at-risk youth was launched. Programming has been offered in schools, community centers, and juvenile detention centers. The value and quality of our programming were recognized, demand for our services increased, and Mirror Image Arts grew into a stable, healthy organization.
The New Lens: 2020 and beyond
As needs change, so too does our programming. In early 2020, strategic planning identified and added a new focus to our work: to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. The pipeline is a charged and complicated issue, but we found it affecting youth everywhere we operated. That is, not just in the juvenile detention centers but also in the schools and communities we serve.
In short, ensuring “safe” schools through 1. Zero Tolerance Policies, and 2. increased police presence in public schools have led to minor infractions being treated as criminal offenses. The result is drastic, exclusionary punishment ranging from detention to incarceration. Once students have been affected, they are often trapped.
Many of these children have learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse, or neglect and would benefit from additional educational and counseling services. Instead, they are isolated, punished, and pushed out.
Through studies of the issue and consultation with lead researchers in the field, we have learned that Mirror Image Arts can have a real impact. SEL and theatre can create safe, honest spaces where youth can build and maintain positive relationships with adults and their peers. They can process their challenges and trauma and work toward healing.