Wellness Wordworks has many different programs. Our two main goals are to show that emotional distress is temporary and transformative, and to use art, peer support and non-medication wellness tools to move people to a life on the other side of a mental health diagnosis.

Our programs are:

Connect Power - We are building a website to solve a big problem in mental health care. Although the 2002 National Asosociation of State Mental Health Program Directors said that peer support is the most effective mental health intervention, still few people can access formal peer support. Also, many people have been trained as peer supporters but don’t have jobs due to ever increasing budget cuts in the public mental health sector.

Poetry for Personal Power – Helping young adults aged 18 – 25 to use wellness tools to overcome adversity in their lives. We are hosting 10 open mics in universities across Missouri where people can win cash prizes for mental health related poetry. We are also hosting 10 information exchange sessions on First Fridays in the Crossroads Arts District where we use a rolling bicycle based health fair display booth to generate conversations about building social connections and using wellness tools. Collaboration with Heartland Consumer Network, American Jazz Museum, Park University, and the American Jazz Museum. Funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration.

Combat  Sports KC - Promoting the combat sports included in the Olympics: Judo, fencing, boxing, wrestling, and Taekwondo. Social media campaign to promote the 90 or so programs in Kansas City and providing scholarships to people with emotional struggles with a doctor’s prescription.

The Chocolate Fairy – This is a whimsical person that shares messaging about stubstance use versus abuse. The idea is that we can each do our best to find honest information about which medications or substances cause the most harm. Then we can choose to modify our lives with substances that harm us the least that we can control the most.

Organizational Chart for Wellness Wordworks: