It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for Charlie Burrell. The founder of Moncton’s Humanity Project got married last Saturday and a week before he received an incredibly generous donation. A business owner who Burrell has worked with in the past called him and asked what he needed for the upcoming fall and winter. Burrell said hey could always use more food and warm clothing to help the city’s homeless and working poor. He was then asked how much he had left on the mortgage for his downtown location on St. George Street that provides hot meals, snacks and clothing. “They basically asked me the amount. I went and found out the exact amount and they said, ‘We’re going to pay it off for you,’” Burrell said on Friday. The amount still owing was a little more than $120,000, but that’s now been paid for. The Humanity Project is a not-for-profit organization run by a dedicated group of volunteers. The person who made the donation will not get a tax receipt from them, it was done purely out of the good of their heart, Burrell said. The business has helped them out before, but never anything like this. “It was a shock. I’m not going to lie, I cried a little and I’m still kind of in disbelief about it,” said Burrell. “The only thing they asked for in return was that we continue to take care of our city’s children, seniors, homeless and working poor families and to keep moving ahead so that we can build a better community for everybody.” Burrell spread the news on Facebook this week and his post has been seen by more than 200,000 people. It also received thousands of comments, many of them read by Burrell. People are well aware these are hard times for a lot of people in downtown Moncton with drug use and overdoses, homelessness and mental health issues, he said. The post “restored their faith in humanity,” Burrell said, because there are still good people out there despite all the negative things going on. Burrell’s family and staff of volunteers were just as blown away as him. “Pretty sure a couple of them had to change their pants. And a lot of them cried too because it’s overwhelming,” he said. The Humanity Project in Moncton is pictured. (Source: Derek Haggett/CTV News Atlantic) Last winter, Burrell started taking people off the streets of downtown Moncton to bring them to a tiny home community on a farm near Salisbury where people are getting a second chance at life. Burrell has received municipal, provincial and private funding in order to build more than 20 bunkhouses to provide addiction and mental health services on site. He told a story about one man who was overdosing on the streets who he thought wasn’t going to make it. The man was revived using NARCAN and agreed to come the Burrell’s farm where he made the goal of getting clean and having a relationship with his child again. “And after nine months of him being on the farm and us working with child protection services and the courts and everything, he now has his son four days a week,” said Burrell. “He’s working on a plan so when he leaves the farm, he’ll have his son full time. There’s no better feeling to me than that.” There are currently 84 people on a wait list to go to the farm. As for who made the mortgage donation, Burrell is keeping that a secret to respect their privacy and to honour their generous act. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.

Southampton, Penn. –

Walking into my grandmother’s house, I watch her hands move in a fast-weaving motion as stitches extend from her knitting needles. Beside her are layered stacks of knit blankets, scarves and ponchos stitched with carefully selected colour schemes and patterns made of wool yarn. She donates these blankets to children’s hospitals and foster homes.

Her favourite pastime is creating. She is always crafting, whether it’s knitting, colouring, scratch art or most recently, dabbling in gem art. These activities provide her satisfaction and purpose in ways more fulfilling than work.

She infused her love for arts and crafts into the rest of my family. My mom joined community theatre groups when she became an empty nester and learned pour painting. My younger cousin photographs nature, and his father (my uncle) has a comedic podcast with voice actors. My twin brother and I sang in college — it kept us sane while balancing our heavy academic workloads.

We thought it was beneficial for our health, and we were right. Creating art reduces levels of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, past research has shown.

“Engaging with arts and crafts is accessible and affordable. Options such as knitting and drawing require very few tools and can be engaging and creatively fulfilling activities,” said Dr. Helen Keyes, cognitive psychologist and head of the school of psychology and sport science at Anglia Ruskin University, via email.

Now, a new study by Keyes and fellow researchers has found that engaging in creative activities can significantly boost well-being by providing meaningful spaces for expression and achievement.

Although prior studies have shown that creating arts and crafting is therapeutic for people with mental health conditions, the general population has been understudied, according to the study, which published recently in Frontiers in Public Health.

That’s why they sampled members of the general population without diagnosed illnesses to see how arts and crafts might contribute to well-being and may reduce loneliness outcomes in everyday life.

The team used data from a major national survey in the U.K. between 2019-20 to investigate how creative activities could impact life satisfaction, controlling for variables known to affect wellbeing such as gender, age group, health, employment status and deprivation. The researchers analyzed a sample of 7,182 participants living in England (age 16 and over) from the annual Taking Part survey conducted by the U.K.’s Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, which explores how the public engages with these activities.

“We kept our analysis to arts and crafting at a broad level, rather than focusing on specific hobbies, as we know that people’s preferences vary and they will find the craft or creative activity that works best for them,” Keyes said.

More than 37 per cent of survey respondents confirmed they had taken part in at least one craft activity over the last year. They were also asked about their employment status, their health, their sense of life being worth living, how frequently they feel lonely and their levels of sensed happiness, anxiety and life satisfaction.

Participants’ reported happiness, life satisfaction and sense of lives being worthwhile were positively correlated to participating in arts and crafts, but arts and crafts were not associated with decreased anxiety or loneliness which requires further investigation. Additional study is needed to examine the social aspects of creative activities, researchers said.

“All forms of art can be beneficial in boosting mental health. Benefits include: increase in self-esteem, reduction in anxiety/stress, improving communication, and fostering creativity,” said Dr. Frank Clark, a psychiatrist with Prisma Health and a poet, via email. Clark was not involved in the study.

Arts and crafts for public health

The researchers suggested that arts and crafts could improve public health.

“Governments and national health services might consider funding and promoting crafting, or even socially prescribing these activities for at-risk populations as part of a promotion and prevention approach to well-being and mental health,” Keyes said. “Engaging with crafting is something that is relatively easy to introduce into your life.”

Creativity does not have one look

Crafting provides an opportunity for a sense of achievement and expression through creation.

“A sense of mastery is important for well-being, and there is inherently a sense of mastery associated with crafting and creating art; that is, people can see their progress and be proud of what they are producing,” Keyes said via email.

If you don’t think of yourself as artistic or creative, Clark has four suggestions to tap into your creative side: Reframe your thinking to be optimistic about your creative potential; do not be afraid to take risks to try a new activity; foster relationships with people who are in a creative space that’s interesting to you; and think about what you did creatively as a child and do it again.

Try it for yourself

A cheap option for indulging in creativity is colouring. Although some may perceive colouring as an activity for kids, “I love adult colouring books and encourage everyone to embrace their inner child,” Clark said. “Colouring is an example of a mindfulness activity that has a multitude of health benefits. It can help foster social connection, improve concentration, and spur creativity.”

And when you’re creative, anything can happen. “Creativity has the power to foster resilience, restoration, and reconciliation,” he said. “It is a cathartic antidote that can help provide a sense of meaning and purpose for humanity.”

Some people love to wash their car, and for others, it’s their most hated chore. It’s a necessity for car owners, so no matter where you fall on the love-hate spectrum, you want a car wash that’s going to give your car a deep clean that lasts. Automatic car washes are at almost any gas…

  When you take your car to the car wash, there are multiple add-ons available, and one common choice is spray-on wax. It may seem like it doesn’t make a difference, but there are some important benefits. And these benefits go beyond how shiny your will car looks. What Are the Benefits of Waxing Your…

Even when you are lucky enough to start with an empty room, it can be overwhelming to design an interior that you can enjoy for years to come. Following some basic interior design principles, you can transform your space into a relaxing room you will be comfortable and happy with. Decide what your focal point will be and build out from there.  For best results, keep proportion and scale in mind as you decorate as well as these tips!

 Deciding on Your Focal Point
Do you have a magnificent bay window with an incredible view?  Is there an ornate mantle that is the reason you fell in love with your home? Or is there something you absolutely MUST HAVE in the room? Situate your furniture around your chosen focal point to create balance and equilibrium. If your room does not already have an existing focal point, create one with oversized art or add an accent point like a free-standing fireplace, they come in a variety of sizes and styles. Symmetrically balance the room evenly so that both sides mirror one another.  This will help your chosen focal point stand out all the more! Use matching accent tables to flank your sofa or use different pieces of furniture to create a copacetic visual impact, like two similar armchairs to balance a sofa.
Repetition for Rhythm
Rhythm creates a flow and helps direct the eye to the differing visual elements in your room. Just as the notes of a favorite song repeat to create the rhythm, repetition in decor will create a rhythm throughout a home. Establish visual interests with a rhythm throughout your space by placing similar colours or patterns at intervals and repeat in artwork, cushions or area rugs.

Perfect Proportion and Suitable Scaling
Who doesn’t love a large, overstuffed chair? But if your room is on the smaller size it may look out of place and make your room seem even smaller than it is. Keep proportion in perspective. Proportion is the ratio between a piece of furniture and the size of a room. Scale is the size of a piece of furniture in relation to the other pieces of furniture in the room. A super large chair will overpower an apartment of loft size sofa or loveseat and create a sense of unbalance in the room.

Have your room humming harmoniously
Creating harmony will enhance how much you will continue to love your finished. Pull the room with a subdued colour palette for a pleasing, harmonious vibe.   together for a pleasing, harmonious look with a subdued color palette. You can also use a single colour for elements that vary in size and shape. Check out our blog on Doing White on White Right! for more tips!

What is the focal point in your room?  What is your best tip to find harmony and balance through your home?