Where We've Been:

Orenda was founded in 1993 to umbrella our work in teaching Healing Art© to HIV and cancer patients. After several years of this work we were called to devote our efforts to supporting challenged youth. The needs of these young people, and our wish to help them, inspired the YouthSpace Project, which we designed and helped to manage-- collaborating with Nevada County Community Network, Silver Springs High School, the 3-R School, and other organizations in Nevada City, CA during the spring, summer and fall of 1996. YouthSpace was an attempt to provide a forum and online meeting ground for homeless children and concerned adults in Nevada County.

Our next project, YouthSpace Santa Fe, included media arts training, computer programming and web page design, permaculture gardening, team-building outdoor activities, boys' and girls' support groups, and a weekly public radio talk show for teens and adults, "Millennium".

Where We're Going:

We began outreach to homeless families with a Healing Art program at the Elsa Segovia Center in Menlo Park, CA, in January 2005. In 2008, we initiated and completed Phase I of the 3-phase Four Corners Media Project and have begun work on Phase II. Over the next several years we will be developing further outreach programs for teens and families in California and the Southwest. Turtle Island Publications is our online publishing website and purchasing outlet for Orenda Publishing, devoted to promoting the artwork and writings of talented young or unknown artists and authors. In addition, Orenda provides online and telephone consultations through Wholebeing© for individuals interested in Healing Art©, shamanic healing, or wellness counseling.