Announcing the 27 awardees of the Youth Healing Project

Communities of Rooted Brilliance will be running an Art Exhibition and Hands-on Studio focused on primarily BIPOC youth and artists that live in South King County. This project presents young BIPOC artists a platform in which they can speak about and share stories through visual media that addresses the negative impacts of COVID-19, historical marginalization, historical trauma, racism, and other adverse experiences that have impacted them and their families. Through this Exhibition and Studio, local communities will be able to share experiences and support, a place and time of resilience, healing, and understanding.  Discovering new forms of art and expression used by different communities and being able to have these communities share thier experiences and visual expressions in a space where they can be their most authentic selves. 

“Climate Healers will engage youth in hands-on STEM experiences that transform climate anxiety into action. Through workshops students will use 3D printing with sustainable materials, stormwater robotics, and energy grid simulations to design solutions to local environmental challenges. The program blends climate science with mental health resilience, giving students tools to process eco-anxiety while building technical, creative, and leadership skills. I am most excited to empower youth to see themselves as innovators and change-makers in their own communities. This partnership allows us to connect climate education with emotional well-being—helping young people build hope, resilience, and real-world skills that make a tangible difference.”

Our mission is to cultivate the health and wellbeing of the Khmer community in Seattle and King County through culturally appropriate services, gathering spaces, and by building trusting relationships. We envision a vibrant community for all Khmer people to connect, support one another, celebrate our culture and stories, and thrive alongside our neighboring communities. We aim to bridge the intergenerational gap between our youth and elders and inspire the evolution of Khmer culture through creativity, healing, and connection. We are excited to partner with one of our youth for a passion project of his. He’s always shown excellent skill when it comes to the arts. For our annual Khmer New Year show, he created a digital piece consisting of three Apsaras (angels) adorned in traditional attire and assuming gestures and poses prominent in Khmer traditional dance. His inspiration for the art came from those involved in our youth-focused robam (dance) and pleng (music) program Khmer Amarak Performing Arts. It truly was a beautiful addition to our event flyers and programs. We’ve watched them grow over the years so we can’t wait to see what they create with guidance from Best Starts for Kids!

“Through Healing Through Hair, I’m creating a safe and empowering space for BIPOC girls to connect, share, and heal through the cultural power of our crowns. This project helps us talk about mental health in a way that feels real and rooted in our identity. Being that this is my first funded project as Miss MILE, I’m most excited to see young women come together, gain confidence, and walk away knowing they are seen, worthy, and never alone.”

– Diamondnae Purdy, Healing Through Hair / Mothers Impacting Lives Every day (MILE)

“Our organization, I Am DIVA Girl, is dedicated to empowering teen girls to build confidence, develop resilient mindsets, and prioritize their mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Through initiatives like the Inner GLOW Project, we create safe, supportive spaces where girls can explore their emotions, learn healthy coping strategies, develop leadership skills, and build a strong sisterhood. Our programs are designed to help young people recognize their full potential, navigate challenges, and make positive choices that benefit themselves, their families, and their communities.

What excites us most about this partnership is the opportunity to expand access to mental health resources and healing spaces specifically for teen girls in South and East King County. By collaborating with King County Best Starts for Kids, we can combine our youth-led programming with professional support, bringing evidence-based strategies, mentorship, and wellness tools directly to participants. 

We are thrilled by the potential for this partnership to not only support the girls in the Inner GLOW Project but also foster lasting positive change in their homes, schools, and communities. Together, we can create a model for youth-led wellness that emphasizes equity, empowerment, and healing from the inside out.”

“There is a difference between dependency and addiction, though too often they are spoken of as one. For youth living with chronic illness, that difference can mean everything. We hope to shed light on this truth, to build understanding where judgment has lived, and to create community where isolation has grown. May this season spark healing conversations and deeper compassion.”

We’re honored to receive this funding to expand Nexus: Mental Health Hub for Schools & Communities (nexusforschools.com, our FREE, award-winning, youth-led and professionally vetted platform transforming how students access mental health support. This partnership will help us reach more schools, youth-serving spaces, and community members across King County and beyond, ensuring every young person has access to culturally responsive tools, peer support, and science-backed strategies that break barriers of stigma, cost, and access. Together, we’re building a future where mental health care is pro-active, inclusive, and youth-empowered. Launched by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Uplift Teens Today, Nexus has already reached over 1.2 million students nationwide, with 250+ youth ambassadors expanding its impact. We’re excited to continue enhancing Nexus as a mobile app to make support even more accessible. 

“What drew me to this program was its focus on mental health. Growing up Latino, I often struggled to talk about mental health because it was such a taboo topic in our culture. It wasn’t until college that I began to understand how important it is to care for my mind, body, and overall well-being. Through this work, I hope to break down stigmas, remove barriers, and provide resources that support healing and fun.
Our organization’s goal is to help youth discover the outdoors while also creating space for them to reflect on their mental health and learn what it means to care for themselves. I’m most excited that we will be combining this focus on mental health with outdoor experiences, something that is often overlooked and inaccessible to many BIPOC communities due to barriers like cost and limited access. As an educator and older brother, I’ve seen how difficult it can be for youth to open up about mental health or take it seriously. By connecting these conversations with hands-on activities such as hikes and nature and culture based workshops, we can make mental health more relatable, engaging, and community centered.”

Through the Best Starts Youth Healing Project, Al-Firdous Seattle will focus on expanding our Step Into Healing series — a youth-led initiative designed to support the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of BIPOC youth in King County. We’ll host monthly gatherings that combine outdoor exploration, healing circles, creative workshops, and community service. Our goal is to nurture emotional resilience, leadership, and connection for youth who often lack access to culturally responsive wellness spaces.
We’re most excited about the chance to grow alongside other youth-serving organizations and to learn from the diverse approaches represented in the Best Starts network. This partnership affirms the importance of youth-led healing and provides us with the resources and mentorship to deepen our impact. We’re grateful for the opportunity to continue building spaces of rest, reflection, and empowerment for our community’s youth.

“Our project will help youth, adults, and children release emotions in a healthy way. We will have conversations about how our ancestors and our cultures have used dances such as capoeira to protect their communities, or other community dances such as Kizomba, Semba, and Kuduro to create collective joy and resilience.  We are most excited about building community with other youth and learning from my friends and community how dance has supported their mental health.”

“With the start of the new school year, Worth A Shot has begun our Teen Cafe after-school groups at the Bellevue middle schools. This year, we have over 100 students registered and thanks to YHP, are excited to offer new and engaging activities for youth to build community! For example, our students at Highland Middle School started a “gardening club” where they learn about and care for plants at the school’s community garden. In addition, youth across our groups are working on art and craft projects (such as learning to knit), and play board games. Developing skills like gardening or knitting are increasingly essential for youth who are increasingly growing up surrounded by screens. We’re excited to promote these skills as a great way to relieve stress and meet other like-minded youth!”