Community Yoga at TFD

This week, we had a yoga session at The Firehouse Dream, which was led by Dasia Key. For this yoga session, we centered on gentle movement and grounding. She allowed intentional moments to pause, check in, and connect movement with mindfulness. Encouraging everyone to move at their own pace while combining gentle stretches and grounding poses. These poses support and help release tension and bring more awareness to the body. Journals were incorporated as a reflective tool for emotional release and processing thoughts. Our community members used their journals to write what came to mind or resurfaced throughout the session.

This session supported both physical grounding and emotional reflection, both through movement and writing. Daisia Key guided our community members by allowing us to feel and move with mindfulness.

Mentorship Celebration

That is a wrap for Spring Mentorship 2.0! We celebrated with good food and reflected on mentorship. We started the last session by heading out to eat together, giving the mentees space to unwind and celebrate their accomplishments and completion of the Mentorship. We talked through everything this Mentorship held: what we learned, the goals we set, the challenges, and the project the mentees worked on collaboratively. After, we made our way back to The Firehouse Dream, where the conversations shifted to more about what the mentees’ journey with photography has been looking like for them recently.

We wrapped the day with group photos and video content of our celebration. Thank you to the mentees for showing up and being ready to learn during Mentorship.

Japanese Doll Making with Yekseny | Art Therapy

For our Art Therapy, we invited community members into a gentle space of reflection, creativity, and cultural appreciation. Yekseny Guerreo facilitated the workshop and began with a check‑in, asking everyone to share their sunny spot, rainbow, and rainy moment from the week.

This grounding ritual helped us reconnect with ourselves and each other before moving into the creative process. After revisiting our group norms, we shifted into the history of Kokeshi dolls. Originating in the Edo Period of Japan, these wooden dolls were crafted by Kijishi, and a group of Japanese artisans skilled in lathe work whose decorative styles were unique to each maker. Traditionally used as children’s toys, Kokeshi dolls also carry symbolic meaning like wishes for good luck, hopes for a bountiful harvest, and appreciation for craftsmanship and culture. With this history in mind, we invited participants to create their own Kokeshi-inspired dolls rooted in personal intention. Everyone took a few minutes to reflect on what they hope or wish for in their lives right now, letting those thoughts guide their color choices, facial expressions, and symbolic designs. Some dolls leaned traditional, others resembled loved ones, and some became small self‑portraits.

Community members went over what they were wishing for, where they planned to keep their doll, and of course, the names they chose for their creations. We closed the session with space for final questions and a brief preview of our next activity. Everyone left carrying a hand‑painted doll, a small and bright reminder of intention, optimism, and the power of creating something with care.

Legal Wellness Clinic at TFD

We recently welcomed the Legal Wellness Clinic back to The Firehouse Dream for another Legal-Aid Wellness Check-Up for the community. Just like the first visit, community members had the chance to sit down with a licensed attorney and walk through a series of questions covering key areas like housing, immigration, family matters, employment, debt and credit, and future and safety planning. These conversations offered space for clarity, reassurance, and help with next steps. After each check-up, our community members received a Legal Wellness Plan outlining any areas of concern and resources to help them move forward.

We are grateful for this continued partnership and for the opportunity to bring accessible legal support directly to our community.

When Parents Lean In: Practical Sexual Awareness for Parents at Every Stage

This workshop, led by La Toya Lee, was an intentional and reflective one. It wasn't just about listening, but also about sharing what we already knew and learning from each other in a safe space. The conversations focused on how adults approach topics like safety, boundaries, and sexual awareness with children, while also looking at different signs and behaviors that might show when a child needs support.

During the workshop, a moment that stood out to everyone was the self-reflection activity where we used mirrors. It was a simple but powerful reminder to pause and think about how we show up and the role we play in helping create safer environments for youth.