First Annual You Matter: Youth Empowerment Day Brings and Joy

By Jerrod Singleton Jr. 

Prioritizing Youth Mental Health

In response to the growing mental health challenges facing today’s youth, the One Purpose Love Foundation hosted its Youth Mental Health Empowerment Day on Saturday, July 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event, supported by the Illinois Department of Public Health, was specifically designed to help young people ages 12 to 18 develop emotional awareness, mental resilience, and coping strategies through a day of interactive learning, creative expression, and community support.

Amid increasing reports of anxiety, depression, and social isolation among adolescents, the foundation sought to create a safe space where mental health was not just recognized—but prioritized. The event’s primary objective was to bring more mental health first aid to the Southland/South Suburbs and equip youth with practical knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the realm of mental health in actionable, healthy and sustainable ways.

It's Okay to Ask for Help Workshop

A Safe and Supportive Space

Nia Jovan Andrews, founder of the One Purpose Love Foundation, described the event as a step in the right direction to bring more attention to youth mental health locally.

“Our goal is to be present and supportive for youth in our community,” Andrews said, “We want to provide tools that help young people navigate everyday mental health challenges.”

The event cultivated a supportive environment where youth could openly discuss the nuances of the world of mental health.

Held at a venue provided by the Southland Equity Initiative, the event transformed the space into an emotional wellness hub complete with information resources, open discussion circles, and interactive self-care stations.

CEO Lawrence Blackwell Jr. emphasized the power of community-based efforts.

“Any time we can link up and support organizations doing great work, we're creating meaningful change,” said Blackwell.

Workshops That Made an Impact

A total of eleven facilitators with a wide range of experiences and expertise ran hands-on workshops, each focused on different aspects of youth mental wellness. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, facilitators offered activities that acknowledged the complexity and diversity of young people’s emotional experiences.

Sessions included the Art Expression Corner, where participants explored their emotions through drawing, painting, and coloring. The act of creating visual representations of feelings offered the youth an alternative outlet for thoughts they found difficult to verbalize—especially those grappling with anxiety, sadness, or anger.

At the It’s OK to Ask for Help workshop, youth were taught the benefits of identifying and utilizing their individual support networks as well as external mental health resources. The session aimed to break down fear or shame around reaching out and empower youth to recognize the early signs of emotional distress.

Coping Kits encouraged participants to build their own self-soothing kits with tools like journals, affirmation cards, stress balls, and fidget toys, reinforcing that coping is an ongoing process.

In How to Catch a Thought, youth practiced cognitive behavioral strategies to pause, label, and reframe intrusive thoughts, building long-term resilience.

You Matter: Seeing Your promoted self-worth through affirmations and reflection, while Mental Health and Social Media tackled digital challenges like comparison culture and cyberbullying, offering strategies for digital mindfulness.

Coping Kits Workshop

Lasting Lessons and Community Impact

As mental health continues to become a pressing issue among youth, events like this serve as a critical reminder: young people deserve safe spaces to learn, feel seen, heard, and supported in. By equipping them with practical skills, tools, and community connections, the Youth Mental Health Empowerment Day encouraged participants to carry lessons of resilience forward and lead by example in spreading mental health awareness.