Soul Sessions: Creative Healing & Cultural Connection

Health care access

San Gabriel Valley

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

The Black community in Los Angeles faces distinct mental health challenges shaped by systemic inequities, cultural stigma, and generational trauma. Traditional services often feel inaccessible or disconnected. Our programming offers culturally responsive, creative approaches like art, movement, and storytelling that honor Black cultural expression and promote healing. These same tools also support neurotypical individuals by providing healthy, engaging ways to manage stress, build emotional awareness, and foster connection. By bringing people together across lived experiences, we create inclusive spaces where mental wellness is normalized, stigma is reduced, and community healing becomes a shared journey, making Los Angeles more connected, compassionate, and mentally resilient.

Our initiative will deliver a multi-pronged, culturally responsive mental health program tailored to the Black community, with components designed to educate, heal, and connect. Activities include quarterly community town halls focused on recognizing signs and symptoms of mental health conditions, dismantling stigma, and increasing access to support. We will also host creative expression workshops, such as creative writing, improv, yoga, reiki, sound healing, and vocal expression, designed to introduce accessible, alternative coping tools grounded in Black cultural and artistic traditions.
To deepen understanding and build empathy, stigma reduction workshops will feature first hand stories from individuals living with mental health conditions and family members who support them. Additionally, we will offer Mental Health First Aid and Social Media Harm Reduction training to equip participants with practical tools to support themselves and their communities.
What makes this project unique is its integration of mental health education with expressive arts and lived experience, creating non-clinical, welcoming spaces that honor cultural identity while fostering healing. By engaging both individuals in recovery and neurotypical community members, we’re not just raising awareness; we’re building a shared language of resilience and wellness that can ripple throughout the entire community.

The Alliance will engage Black youth and families in Pomona Valley through creative arts-based mental health workshops, like writing, improv, sound healing, and movement, paired with education on stigma, resilience, and emotional wellbeing. We’ll host community conversations, Mental Health First Aid training, and Social Media Harm Reduction workshops. In the short term, we aim to reach over 500 participants and create culturally relevant spaces for healing and leadership. Long term, we will expand this culturally rooted model countywide, advocating for policy changes that prioritize arts in mental health funding, youth-informed programming, and equity in underserved regions. Our vision is a LA County where creative expression, community voice, and culturally responsive care transform how mental health is accessed and experienced - uplifting Black health, breaking down systemic barriers, and building a more connected, equitable LA County where every community can thrive.