Proviso East | Mental Health Kit Giveaway and Health Fair

Yesterday, the Firehouse Dream Team went to Proviso East to hand out 153 more kits to the high school students. Thanks to our team, we ran out once again at each lunch period, but thanks to our partnership with the Loyola Health clinic, we can now do weekly drop offs to the students who have not received one. In total, we have now given away 600 kits to our local high school students. Thank you so much to our supporters for believing in this mission!

While the team was in the lunch room passing out kits, Jasmine and Maya went around to a couple of class rooms to educate our students on how money can impact mental health! Jasmine shared her story on how money has impacted her personal life. She presented '“money truths” to help the students believe in themselves and that money is a tool.

The Firehouse Dream has been making an impact in our community! Thank you all for following along in our journey!

Community Yoga | March 4th

Hey friends! Last Saturday we held our first yoga session for our community. We had mentees and community members join us for beginner yoga with Kathy Khang. Our intention for yoga for the community is to provide a safe space to stretch and relax your body, but also to just take a break and let that long sigh out. Kathy first led us through a couple of basic stretches and then went into a sequence of movements that helped with getting in touch with our body. After, we slowed down and went into self-reflecting poses.

Of course, thank you Kathy for leading us through a great first community yoga session. Our next yoga event will be Saturday, April 1st, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. We look forward to seeing you there!

Yoga and Journaling | Session 2

This weekend, TFD partnered again with Kathy Khang for our second yoga and journaling session. Our sessions are open to all Proviso community members. The yoga is very gentle on our body, yet provides a stretch that will last all week!

In this session, Kathy started with some breathwork. She stated that this would calm our bodies and create a clear headspace for journaling. During this session, Kathy guided our group through a self-check-in. She asked our group “What is your heart feeling?” or “What is your body feeling?” Afterward, we explored some new yoga poses like star, warrior, and crane. After our stretching, we returned to the self-check-in to see what had changed.

Thank you Kathy for leading us through another great session. Our next session is February 18th, from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. Community members, please volunteer here for our last session of this cohort!

Proviso East | Mental Health Kit Giveaway

Friends! We have finally gotten into another Proviso school! We are continuously working toward our goal of giving away kits to every student in Proviso District 209. Jasmine and Maya have been working hard to educate our youth on the importance of mental health and self-confidence. To honor that, we held an affirmations board. We had Proviso East students write on our affirmation sticky notes “I am” statements that reflected their authentic selves. We had statements like “I am loved” and “I am destined for success”. Better yet, our kits come with sticky notes in them, so we are hopeful they continue to tell themselves positive affirmations

By the end of our time, 149 East students had received a kit! Thank you to Proviso East for believing in our purpose and wanting to share it with the students. Also, thank you to our supporters, donors, and sponsors who allow us to work toward our goal of 5000 kits given away.

Group Therapy | Session 2

Greetings friends! Sarah of Yo Soy Ella held another impactful group therapy session with some youth of Proviso. In this session, Sarah led a conversation about expectations. Expectations could be in relation to ourselves, society, family, school, and more. Yet, before that, Sarah did her weekly check-ins to see how the last session may have brought on reflections. Continuing on, Sarah started the conversation by asking what expectations the youth were feeling more recently. Toward the end of the session, Sarah asked our youth how can we, as adults, limit these expectations.

Sarah always does an amazing job of connecting with our youth and creating a safe space. If you know a young adult who may be interested in group therapy, have them RSVP. Our next session is Saturday, February 11th from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM. See you soon!