KAT is asking fans to donate to Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities to support free therapy programs.
MINNEAPOLIS — Teens Makiyah Butler and Ehsan Israel often play basketball at the Jerry Gamble Boys & Girls Club in north Minneapolis.
As NBA fans, they are excited about the partnership with Karl-Anthony Towns.
“He’s using his current position, his fame and everything else to focus on teen mental health,” Israel explained.
“Towns has been cleared for full-contact 5-on-5 basketball activities,” the Minnesota Timberwolves announced Tuesday. The four-time NBA All-Star has been sidelined since mid-March with a knee injury.
And last week, he launched a fundraiser called the 32 Wellness Challenge, named after his No. 32 jersey, asking fans to support the Boys and Girls Club of the Twin Cities by donating $32 or more. Ta. Youth in Therapy Programming have free access to all 13 sites.
“Young people are buzzing around here about this,” said Cejay Jackson, manager of the Jerry Gamble branch.
Jackson started a pilot program several years ago, initially bringing in licensed professionals from Life Curation PLLC, then adding Ujima Therapy and Your Time Therapeutic Services.
“And they don’t just show up as therapists,” Jackson says. “They’ll come here. They’ll play basketball together… When we started, many children couldn’t really recognize many emotions other than anger and happiness… Young people come in and they’re pretty closed off, but after a few months you see them open up and be able to talk about things. ”
According to Mental Health America, about 15% of Minnesota teens experienced severe major depression last year.
Butler and Israel said they attended numerous therapy sessions with their peers.
“Sometimes you find someone who has gone through the same traumatic event, and that can lead to connections and new friendships,” Israel said. “The fact that we get a chance to talk about the community and have the community speak is really great.”
“Maybe their relationship with their mother isn’t very good and it’s just personal issues with family members. It doesn’t necessarily have to be gun violence, because it’s almost an everyday thing – I hate to say it – but it’s commonly known,” Butler added.
Simply put, the 32 Wellness Challenge is an opportunity to support a support group.
“Sometimes it’s not always about the money,” Jackson said. “Now, please be a mentor to young people.”
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