About Oasis (RHD)

Oasis (RHD) is a studio art and life skills program staffed by artists that nurtures the talents, skills, and creativity of individuals living with mental illness and/or intellectual disabilities. We offer programs and services that support people with developmental and intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for employment, community connections, and personal development through the arts. Oasis (RHD) is a part of its parent company Resources for Human Development.  

The Benefits of Our Project: The Shoe In

Every pair of shoes brings with it an opportunity and benefits for the members of the Oasis (RHD) community to study:

1. Formal academics in a venue that uses the arts to communicate foundational cognitive adaptive skills needed to increase independence. 
2. Concrete participation in collaboration and planning
3. Support for development in 'activities of daily living' (ADL) 
4. Opportunity to develop an understanding of Empathy
5. Participation in the regional art community through exhibitions and partnerships with established innovative artists and institutions.    

Help Us Raise Our Game

The Oasis (RHD) community is seeking investment and support in the Shoe In to raise funds, social empathy and awareness for some of our society's most vulnerable and valueable citizens. Your investment will help create both sustainability and continuity of essential programming for the voices of these Outsider Artists. 

How does Oasis (RHD) fit into the Big Picture?

Contributing to Oasis (RHD) to fund 'The Shoe In' will assist us to continue essential day programming services for the emerging Outsider Artists we serve. We are a small service provider to over 100 adults whose needs are difficult to meet elsewhere. 

Policy changes, financial miscalculations and proposed budget cuts by the Pennsylvania state government continue to ravage services that fell short of current needs even during fiscally ‘flush’ times. What does this mean for the 2.3 million citizens served and the approximately 16,000 people waiting for services, 4,000 of which are people whose situations are considered emergencies?

Funding cuts hurt all of us. Not just those of us with disabilities.

Whether the shortfalls are attributed to the budget crisis, a shift from county-run to state-run services, and the state’s belief that providers, as a whole, can operate more efficiently, the message is still the same: slashing our funding slashes the quality of service provision needed for the artists that call Oasis home.