In 2022, TFD had a dream of creating healthy coping skills for Proviso youth. After experiencing many young souls lost to suicide, TFD wanted to become a space where mental health is normalized and honored. We exercised this through various types of mental health workshops like yoga, breathwork, group therapy, and art therapy. Yet, we wanted something that could provide our youth with healthy coping skills to deal with hard emotions It took many trials to dream up what our kit could look like, and at the end of 2022, we were ready to launch.
Our Big Bag of Feelings, was inspired by listening to our youth to see what they might want in the bag. We asked ourselves when we were younger, what may have aided us in our mental health journies. When you open the bag, you will first see a welcome card that includes everything included plus our creative partners, who happen to almost all be past mentees. Next, you will see a journal with journal prompts and pens. There is a feelings wheel, which helps identify what you are feeling with a matching keychain that allows you to write out said feeling. There are also many different fidget tools like a pop-it, stress ball, slug, flex rings, and more! As we launch more kits and hear more feedback, we will continue to update what comes in the bag.
TFD’s goal is to give away over a thousand kits to our local youth. This December, we were given the opportunity to hand out 150 kits to local high school students. We heard feedback like, “I needed this” or “I love what this says”. This January, we were also given the opportunity to visit two schools and hand out more kits.
None of this work would be possible without our friends and donors. We thank you for believing in us and the importance of our work. If you are interested in buying a bag, we have the option to buy a single kit or a Buy One Give One to sponsor a kit given away to our youth. Additionally, with a code, anyone from 15-22 who lives in the Proviso area can be given one for free. Reach out to our executive assistant, Maya (maya@thefirehousedream.org) for more details.
