May is Mental Health Awareness Month and The Boys and Girls Club of Door County is doing their part to advocate for kid’s personal wellness by offering a Self-Care Club. The club helps youth to learn healthy ways to cope with stress while exploring new hobbies along the way.
The Boys and Girls Club Director of Clubhouse Operations Chelsea Adams says the program is an inviting opportunity for children to learn about stress, emotions, and to express themselves through creativity.
“The club is really directed for youth to learn different coping mechanisms and to discover new tools and interests,” said Adams, “understanding that some of the things they love to do can be a great channel to destress can help manage some of those big emotions that kids are feeling every day.”
A variety of self-care offerings are available on Wednesdays and Adams says each is geared towards different age groups ranging from age 7 to high school. The current self-care group is geared towards kids in the 3rd through 5th grade level.
“At Club, we provide a lot of information and opportunities for kids to really focus on self-regulation and to also really think about how they’re taking care of themselves,” said Adams.
Kids can participate in yoga and meditation plus projects like crafts, painting, listening to different styles of music, journaling, and cooking activities.
“I came in and talked about, you know, even adults get stressed and one of the things that I do is bake so we did a no-bake energy ball recipe,” said Adams, “it’s something that they can make right in their home with their families.”
Along with finding an outlet that they enjoy, there’s also trusted mentors available for kids to voice their worries to in a judgement-free environment.
“We have an on-site Mental Health Therapist and our Director of Emotional Wellness right here in our building and they often run a lot of programming that focus on youth mental health services,” said Adams, “there’s a lot of different kinds of avenues to really destress.”
The Boys and Girls Club further approaches mental health through encouragement with community involvement, which includes the Chalk Walk program. Adams said the offering originated during the pandemic when families were experiencing isolation in their home and has carried over each year.
“This year is our fifth year running our Chalk Walk program which brings awareness to youth mental health throughout our community,” said Adams, “we invite the community to come out and share positive messages and draw positive and inspiring pictures.”
The program will run through next week and the Club will be out around 3pm and 4pm each day decorating the sidewalks between 3rd Avenue and Nebraska in Sturgeon Bay. The Self-Care Club is available to members of the Boys and Girls Club and anyone interested should visit www.bgcblr.org/door-county.
Photo credit: The Boys and Girls Club of Door County
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