"I know what it's like to go through dark times and how to overcome what has happened to you and not let it define who you are," said Sarah Penke, a residential therapist from Lad Lake, an agency that provides services to youths who have experienced trauma or trouble statewide.

Penke asked that her location be kept private for the safety of her residents. Lad Lake has several locations.

Penke grew up in a family with a parent who had mental health issues, she said. "There were different events in my life that occurred where I had post traumatic stress disorder three times," she said.

By the time she was a teenager, she said she knew she wanted to be a trauma therapist to help others with their healing processes.

Penke went to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay for social work; for her master's, she specialized in school social work and trauma therapy and treatment at UW-Milwaukee.

Many of the 12- to 17-year-olds she works with are survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking.

"It's a challenge that I am passionate about and am very compassionate about," she said. "It's a very creative process."

About 25% of the therapy she does with them is art-related, she said.

"This is a way to express yourself in a safe way and release the feelings when you may not have language or complete understanding of the situations that occurred to you," she said.

Working with survivors

The teen survivors she works with love Tumblr, she said. For one of her assignments, she prints out drawings from the site that resemble them.

Then she has clients fill the empty space surrounding the person with the negative words that have been spoken over their lives, like "ugly" or "worthless."

Inside the person, they write the positive beliefs they want to hold in their hearts like "I am more than enough" or "I am worthy and deserving of respect," she said.

"Because you are what you believe, the concept is to adapt these positive beliefs about yourself so that you can feel empowered as a person and be strengthened inside," she said.

Clients who need help focusing attention or have anxiety build sensory bottles with Penke.

Sensory bottles are clear bottles that are filled with warm water, dish soap, glitter and sequins.

"Those who have been through trauma, it's hard for them to concentrate," she said. The bottles are meant to help get the girls out of their own heads and focus on the present when they are overwhelmed or are having trouble focusing in school, she said.

Moving ahead

Penke takes survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking through three phases, she said.

The first is equipping them with the tools to manage the things they're struggling with, such as anxiety or depression.

The second is digging into and processing the traumas, and sorting out feelings that come up as a result.

The last is about rebuilding them and helping them create a plan for success, she said.

In addition to art projects, Penke said she incorporates yoga, poetry, music, dance, aroma therapies and mindfulness into her work with clients, depending on their strengths and interests.

Painting jeans to raise awareness

For the past three years, Lad Lake has hosted a public Paint for Peace event at A Stroke of Genius, 250 W Broadway, Waukesha, to raise awareness for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which is April, and National Denim Day, which falls on April 24 this year.

"It's a way for us to let the community know that this is prevalent in Wisconsin, everywhere and in every county," she said.

One in four girls will be sexually abused before they turn 18, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center's website.

At the event, participants paint jeans, which will be donated to Lad Lake sexual assault survivors, and denim fabric squares, which will be made into a quilt to hang in their residence.

The event, which is held on April 17 this year, sold out for the first time, with more than 30 participants. Registration fees go toward supplies for Lad Lake's art therapy programs.

If you'd like to find out ways to support Lad Lake, visit ladlake.org.

How Denim Day got started

In the '90s, the Italian Supreme Court overturned a rape conviction, saying that since the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped the man take them off, implying consent, according to a Denim Day news release.

The next day, women in the Italian Parliament wore jeans to support the victim.

In 1999, Peace Over Violence, a sexual assault and domestic violence organization based in Los Angeles, organized the first Denim Day to stand with victims, the release said.

Contact Hannah Kirby at hannah.kirby@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HannahHopeKirby.