Quilting in Self-Efficacy Group Work With Older African American Women Leaving Homelessness

The use of quilting as an art therapy intervention in a self-efficacy group of African American women who were leaving homelessness is examined in this article. Two quilting workshops (n = 8; n = 12) contributed to a larger parent project (N = 530 over a 10-year period), entitled the “Leaving Homelessness Intervention Research Project,” conducted in a U.S. Midwestern city. In addition to framing the importance of quilting as a form of group work and health promotion that may foster resilience toward stressful transitions, the authors offer a rationale, outcomes, and guidelines for community building and advocacy through the quilting form that is a heritage of American folk art.