The Hidden Healing Fund Awards $1.1M in Grants to Community Organizations Addressing Young People's Mental Health

NEW YORK, April 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hidden Healing Fund, a pioneering initiative founded by Pinterest and SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios, proudly announces its inaugural grant recipients: eleven trailblazing organizations across the United States and the United Kingdom that are using creative and innovative approaches to address mental health needs within their communities. The Fund is disbursing a total of $1.1 million in catalytic grants to advance community-based mental health solutions for young people. These grants are also supported by founding partner lululemon with a contribution from The Starbucks Foundation.

Launched in May 2024, the Hidden Healing Fund is dedicated to improving mental health for young people by elevating healing practices that honor the unique lived experiences of youth in the programs. What makes the Fund unique is its co-design and co-ownership model, which ensures that community leaders and young people themselves have a voice in shaping its priorities and initiatives. Through partnerships with grassroots organizations and leaders deeply connected to the lived experiences of the populations they serve, the Fund provides essential resources that bridge gaps in mental health care, fostering holistic solutions. The grantee organizations span arts, mentorship and outdoor recreation to address the mental health needs of young people, using creative tools like music, poetry, and hip-hop; community-building activities such as double dutch, boxing, and camping; and trauma-informed approaches that foster resilience, self-expression, and healing.

Meet the Grantees

The inaugural cohort of grantees represents an array of organizations using innovative and culture-first approaches to addressing the mental health challenges of young people:

1. Art as Mentorship (AM) (Kansas City, MO) taps into the frequencies that heal us connecting musical experiences to mental health and amplifying American music's diverse roots. AM is an ecosystem nurturing young artists, championing arts participation as a healthy behavior, and serving as the nucleus for creative skills mentorship to develop healthy young professionals.
2. ArtStart Rhinelander (Rhinelander, WI) is a creative placemaking project dedicated to strengthening the Rhinelander community through arts education and cultural engagement. ArtStart serves as a cornerstone for community development, leveraging art to inspire cultural, social, and economic growth.
3. BAY-Peace (Oakland, CA) offers holistic leadership programs to empower Bay Area youth to transform and heal from militarization, systemic violence, and intergenerational trauma. Every year, their youth members conduct Youth Participatory Action Research projects related to trauma, healing and violence to help inform their grassroots organizing, advocacy and artistic efforts which aim to prevent violence, build community and promote trauma healing.
4. Beats Rhymes and Life (Oakland, CA) empowers marginalized youth to access healing through the therapeutic power of hip-hop. By providing culturally-congruent, strength-based, and youth-centered services, the organization fosters resilience, self-discovery, and authentic storytelling to reduce stigma and rebuild trust in systems of care.
5. Black Girls Jump (Chicago, IL) preserves the art of double dutch while promoting it as a fun, culturally-rooted and empowering way to stay fit. Through this beloved activity, the organization inspires women to embrace play, encourages children to stay active, and addresses health disparities with joy and connection.
6. Camping to Connect (New York, NY & Denver, CO) uses outdoor recreation and nature immersion to address the diverse issues faced by young men of color in America's cities—from mental health to healthy masculinity. By connecting youth with nature, peers, and mentors who share their cultural backgrounds, it creates safe spaces for meaningful conversations and fosters transformative self-perception.
7. Empire Fighting Chance (Bristol, England) transforms young lives through non-contact boxing training, combining sport with psychology to improve mental health, reduce destructive behaviors, strengthen relationships and support personal growth.
8. Hidden Healers (New York, NY & Washington, DC) is a youth-led movement transforming mental health through ancestral practices, cultural advocacy, and peer-driven approaches. It expands access to healing by creating platforms such as a groundbreaking documentary, youth training programs, and creative partnerships that amplify underrepresented voices and celebrate culture-first approaches to mental health.
9. Play for Progress (Croydon, London, England) supports unaccompanied young asylum seekers through trauma-informed creative engagement in the arts and education. By harnessing the healing power of music, the arts, play, and creative therapies, the organization builds healthy, resilient relationships, creates supportive communities, and amplifies the voices of the young people it serves.
10. Poetic Unity (Brixton, England) empowers young people to thrive through poetry-based education, employment, social justice and mental health support worldwide. Our work centres the needs and experiences of the young people we support, recognising poetry as a therapeutic tool that unites and heals communities, celebrates identity and challenges injustice.
11. We Are Culture Creators (Detroit, MI) is built on love, inclusion, and cultural pride. Led by mentors who reflect the backgrounds of the youth they serve, it empowers young people through mentorship, performances, and workshops. Rooted in Detroit's diverse communities, W.A.C.C. shapes its members into artists and leaders driving the city's cultural and entrepreneurial future.

Each grantee was selected through a thoughtful review process, emphasizing community leadership, innovation, and alignment with the Hidden Healing Fund's mission. The Advisory Committee, consisting of community leaders, field experts, and others, ensured the approach was community-rooted and equitable.

"This gift is so timely and inspirational as ArtStart is exploring ways our programming can go even deeper into an Arts & Healing model. Both the funding and the validation this recognition gives us will be so helpful as we chart our course over the next few years which will include launching a capital campaign, deepening our partnership with the healthcare and social services community and of course support the building of a new skatepark/arts plaza!," said Melinda Childs, Community Cultural Development Director, ArtStart in Rhinelander.

"This is a groundbreaking moment for us, as young people who have been historically marginalized, to be centered. We are honoring the legacy of youth-led movements in mental health by amplifying culturally grounded practices that have been overlooked for far too long. We're here, we're visible, and we're igniting a movement to empower young people to take action," said Maddox Guerilla, youth mental health leader and Co-founder of Hidden Healers.

"Through the Hidden Healing Fund, we are proud to champion organizations that are breaking barriers to wellbeing and creating transformative spaces for young people," said Anne Wintroub, Head of Social Impact and Engagement, lululemon. "These grants are an investment not only in mental health but in the power of culturally-rooted healing practices to inspire resilience and hope."

The Hidden Healing Fund reflects a collaborative effort to redefine how corporate philanthropy can support mental health and equity. "Through the fund's unique co-ownership model, we've pushed ourselves to set new standards for funding practices that honor the collective and communal values of our grantees while uplifting culturally-rooted healing practices. It's a difficult but meaningful process that requires genuine partnership with honest dialogue and continuous accountability," said Hidden Healing Fund advisor Dr. Michael Fu, Co-founder, culture therapy. "We are excited to be off to such an inspiring start."

For more information about the Hidden Healing Fund visit https://www.hiddenhealingfund.org.

About The Hidden Healing Fund

The Hidden Healing Fund is a collaborative initiative established by Pinterest, lululemon, and MTV to support culturally-led healing practices that enhance the mental health of young people. By providing financial resources and visibility to organizations committed to these practices, the Fund seeks to elevate the role of cultural traditions in the mental health landscape.

SOURCE SHOWTIME/MTVE Studios+ Paramount Media Networks