We plot to spread joy wherever people are peopling. here are some of our accomplices.
BRINGING JOY + TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE TO WORK
A WEEK OF MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID WITH VIP community services
GSJ co-founder Alex collaborated with fellow Mental Health First Aid National Trainers Crystal Fulwood and Myla Yee to train over 150 staff, leaders, and partners during five days of MHFA trainings across New York City for VIP Community Services.
Participants learned skills to enhance safety during interactions with colleagues and clients they support via housing assistance, medical + mental health care, and social engagements.
BECAUSE EVERYONE NEEDS SPACE TO PROCESS BIG EMOTIONS
GRIEFSPACE FOR TEAM MEMBERS @ THE HETRICK-MARTIN INSTITUTE
GetSomeJoy collaborated with leaders at the Hetrick-Martin Institute for LGBTQ Youth to provide a joy-infused space for team members impacted by a shifting political and professional landscape to celebrate themselves and each other, and check in about their mental health and the emotional impact of drastic community changes.
We used creative wellness strategies from GetSomeJoy’s Literary Therapy Writing Program to explore protective factors and share tools for thriving and finding joy amidst uncertainty.
WRITE YOUR WAY TO CLARITY WITH A CARING COMMUNITY
Literary Therapy Writing Circles offer intimate space to unpack
In partnership with Mind.Body.You
With the guidance of a licensed clinician, Literary Therapy Writing Circle participants spend four weeks exploring topics impacting mental health through writing, group discussion, and collaborating on creative wellness tools and strategies for thriving.
Participants also collaborate with the clinician to develop a Long-Term Wellness Plan.
JOY-INFUSED WELLNESS FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS
bringing CARE + comfort to the national funeral directors + morticians association expo
Supporting families navigating loss is no easy feat. Caregivers routinely neglect their own emotional and physical wellbeing and funeral directors often report feeling overextended.
GetSomeJoy brought our Community Literary Therapy Wall, Literary Therapy Postcards, and printed griefKits to the 2024 NFDMA Expo + Convention to promote our Grief Support Program and provide funeral home staff a joyful space to check in on their own needs and receive the same affirming care they offer their clients.
PRIORITIZING JOY + WELLNESS IN COMMUNITY CARE
navigating grief with creative wellness strategies
at the 2024 U.S. CONFerence on hiv + aids
At the 2024 U.S. Conference on HIV & AIDS, Alex delivered a powerful keynote and facilitated an interactive workshop on Navigating Grief with Creative Wellness Strategies. Participants shared stories and reflections, and left with practical tools.
PRIORITIZING STUDENT WELLNESS
Mercer County Community College Educational Opportunity Fund
GetSomeJoy partnered with MCCC and the Georgian State University Educational Opportunity Fund to bring students a Black History Month Virtual Community Cook-along. While exchanging family food stories and traditions and reflecting on things bringing us joy, we made curry chicken, rice, and fried plantain together.
We prepared a Community Cook-along Workbook + Exploration Guide.
The following year, we hosted a GetSomeJoy@School Community Wellness Forum where we invited students to share their victories (and applaud one another), engage direct support from educators and admin about things impacting their ability to thrive at school, and collaborate on strategies for cultivating a more joyful learning environment.
We brought snacks and fried chicken stickers.
EQUIPPING STAFF AND CAMPUS LEADERS WITH SUPPORT SKILLS
PRIORITIZING COMMUNITY WELLNESS WITH HOWARD UNIVERSITY STUDENT HEALTH Center
After connecting at the 2024 U.S. Conference on HIV + AIDS, Howard University Director of Student Health Ebony Copeland, MD, contracted GetSomeJoy for a Mental Health First Aid training for 30 staff and campus leaders.
Mental Health First Aid National Trainer Crystal Fulwood, whose approach a participant described as “inclusive and respectful,” led the training.
Other participants highlighted “her combination of expertise, empathy, and engaging teaching style,” which made the class “not only informative but also enjoyable.”
INCREASING PROTECTIVE FACTORS
Mental health first aid at The Juilliard School
In March 2024 and January 2025 GetSomeJoy supported over 75 Juilliard faculty and staff with Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings.
EACH ONE, REACH ONE
Normalizing conversations on wellness with Team: Changing Minds
GetSomeJoy co-founder Alex Hardy trains and mentors Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructors for Team: Changing Minds, a collaboration between Futures Without Violence, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and National Council for Mental Wellbeing, who have joined forces to create the country’s first mental health response network specializing in reaching young men.
Monthly cohort meetings offer YMHFA Instructors space for deeper connections, coaching, and collaboration on engagement, implementation, and overcoming challenges.
The collective is working together to equip and support caring community members (coaches, mentors, peers, barbers, gaming buddies, etc.) to help reduce the amount of time it takes men and boys of color to access mental health care (for a variety of reasons).
2023 SUPERINTENDENT’S DAY CONFERENCE
Presenting a vision + strategies for joy-infused education + community building
We collaborated with the Family Violence Prevention Council of Broome County and Binghamton University to bring some joy to educators and administrators at the 16th Annual Superintendent’s Day Conference.
Attendees reflected on joy and strategies for thriving at school on our Community Literary Therapy Wall then collaborated on creative wellness toolkits in a Literary Therapy for Educators and Administrators breakout session.
GetSomeJoy co-founder Alex Hardy ended the day with a keynote presentation inviting attendees to consider how we can work together to cultivate more joyful learning and working environments.
SUNSHINE, FEELINGS, AND SUNFLOWERS
That time we prioritized joy + wellness as the official mental health partner of 2023 Oakland Black Pride
GetSomeJoy and Oakland Black Pride joined forces to prioritize mental health during the 3rd annual Black Pride Festival, which welcomes family, friends and allies to celebrate Oakland’s LGBTQ+ communities.
As the Festival’s official mental health partner, GetSomeJoy brought accessible wellness experiences and resources that center joy, facilitate healing, and foster connection in raggedy times.
We kicked things off with a Collab Kick-Off + Mental Health Check-In Situation on Instagram with OBP founder Olaywa K. Austin.
We created space to process + collaborate on creative wellness tools for Black LGBTQ+ folks during Literary Therapy: Navigating Grief + Loss with Joy.
And we pulled out two Community Literary Therapy Walls so Queer Expo attendees could have space to reflect, share about mental health, and see how others were coping and finding joy while supporting local vendors and eating yummy food.
RESPONDING TO CHALLENGES WITH CARE
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
As a Mental Health First Aid National Trainer, GetSomeJoy co-founder Alex helps cultivate and coach considerate, prepared, dynamic Mental Health First Aid Instructors who train their communities to recognize and respond to mental health and substance use challenges.
He has worked as an Instructor for Mental Health First Aid’s Adult, Youth, and Spanish curricula since 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively.
In April 2022, Alex delivered a keynote presentation on Joy-Infused Community Building at the National Council’s Mental Health First Aid Summit.
He previewed a few of the keynote’s concepts in a post on the Mental Health First aid Blog ahead of the summit, “Five Ways to Use Food as a Tool for Practicing Mindfulness, Fostering Connection, and Centering Joy.”
Alex has also supported the National Council’s partnership with the kate spade new york foundation through consulting on training delivery and outreach practices and facilitating Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid trainings for New York- and new Jersey-based art, entertainment, and media professionals.
PEACE, FELLOWSHIP + FEEDBACK
Writing in the Sand Writer’s Retreat
GetSomeJoy was a sponsor of the Writing in the Sand Residence Retreat in Plymouth, Tobago, where writers gathered in a gorgeous villa to create together, receive coaching from Writers-in-Residence, frolic on the beach, relax, swim, and eat well. Shoutout to Chef Ackeel Alexis.
Using GetSomeJoy’s creative wellness framework, Alex engaged the writers in a Literary Therapy Writing Workshop exploring mental health and personal growth.
BECAUSE JOYFUL TEACHERS PRODUCE JOYFUL STUDENTS
Centering Joy-Infused Education at the 2023 FOCUS Summer Learning Conference
Our redesigned Community Literary Therapy Wall (designed by Denae Patterson) made its debut in Storm Lake, Iowa at the gathering of educators and administrators, hosted by the Prairie Lakes Atrea Education Agency.
We offered attendees space to reflect and share on our Wall when they were most joyful at school and strategies for cultivating more joyful learning environments. Alex shared a presentation on joy-infused education and strategies for helping educators thrive amidst historic burnout, resignations, and global uncertainty.
They loved the fried chicken stickers.
EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO OFFER
fostering connection + offering mental health support via twitter spaces spark program
GetSomeJoy co-founder Alex Hardy joined a diverse cohort of audio creators assembled to help launch Twitter's new audio conversation platform, Twitter Spaces. During the program, we facilitated 48 themed community mental health check-ins/resource exchanges.
SPACE TO PROCESS + SHARE
Support for the supporters: prioritizing wellness + joy for National Urban League’s housing counselors
After conducting a GetSomeJoy@Work Community Wellness Assessment, we supported National Urban League’s housing counselors with:
Literary Therapy Writing Workshops,
ongoing Mental Health First Aid trainings,
and space for leaders to unpack Assessment results & collaborate on strategies for increasing joy, morale, and connectedness at work.
MAKING TIME FOR JOY @ SCHOOL
Writing about joy, mental health, and goals with Haldane Elementary students
Alex worked with the administration at Haldane Elementary in Cold Spring, NY to cultivate a year-long joy-infused writing program that allowed students space to express themselves with aims of fostering comfort with and appreciation for using writing as a tool for mindfulness, stress relief, and growth.
The program entailed creative wellness resources for students, shared across three classroom visits to three classrooms of 20 students, tools for thriving and facilitating classroom reflection via The Joy Report, and a Literary Therapy for Educators session.
A SAFE SPACE TO EXPLORE, CONNECT, AND DREAM
4-part LITERARY THERAPY series with dominican writers association
The 4-part Literary Therapy series with the Dominican Writers Association kicked off with the first week focused on Joy, Grief, Healing, and Recovery. Participants explored the intersection of these themes through storytelling. Each session offered a space for reflection, creative expression, and connection, using literature as a restorative practice and tool to navigate emotional wellness.
A COMMUNITY HEALING SPACE
literary therapy for all at the oakland public library
After its debut at the Black Joy Parade, our Community Literary Therapy Wall spent late winter and spring 2022 at the Lakeview Branch and Elmhurst Branch of the Oakland Public Library.
Stocked with Literary Therapy Postcards, fried chicken stickers, and Literary Therapy Exploration Workbooks, the walls offered public space for reflection and sharing on mental health, joy, and wellness resources.
A JOYFUL DEBUT
2022 BLACK JOY PARADE
GetSomeJoy pulled up to Black Joy Parade 2022 with:
+ A custom Community Literary Therapy Wall commissioned for the parade
+ a special Black Joy Parade edition of GetSomeJoy's Literary Therapy Workbooks
+ access to free life-improving community resources from 1Degree.
+ fried chicken stickers)
