PROGRAMS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Culinary therapy can be described as a therapeutic technique using cooking, art, gastronomy (the art & science of good eating), often combined with people’s personal, cultural, and familial relationships with food to address underlying emotional and psychological problems. Culinary therapy can decrease a range of mental health issues such as; behavioral health including, depression, eating disorders, anxiety, addiction, trauma, and ADHD.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A unique program for at-risk youth to pave the way to an enriched future by incorporating community supported agricultural elements, cooking experience, building skills in culinary expertise and business management, and providing vital therapeutic elements to support mental health.

HOUSE OF HEALING

The house of healing is a safe place for victims of sex trafficking and domestic abuse crimes. Here they can temporarily move in, to hide, find themselves, and learn to find a new path towards financial freedom and independence.

Therapy and mental support of different kinds will be offered, as well as outside recommendations and referrals. A true house of healing tying in culinary therapy and vertical farming for both therapeutic use and to teach life skills to become independent.

We will also tie in martial arts, mental health programs, and access to licensed psychologists. Additionally, we will be able to consult and assist with placement into educational institutions, such as highschool equivalency programs, vocational programs, and college and university institutions.

The house will function as a safe village that anyone who is or has been part of our programs can come to when they need support of any kind. It is a place that is a steady part of their life with a hand holding element that is a central part of the Belafonte family foundation. The house will also be a place where our villagers can take classes, learn skills remotely, and find solace in educational and mental health areas.

TWEEN & TEEN TIK-TALK SPACE

Tweens have for years been the lost group of children where mental health support is concerned. Even before the pandemic which made suicide attempts and depression in children under the age of 13 grow tremendously, the numbers were staggering for years. Bullying, abuse, eating disorders, racism can seem insurmountable to a young child and often parents are unaware or kept in the dark.

Feeling alone in the overpowering emotions of navigating teen-hood, as well as the world of today, is a major cause for the escalation from anxiety, to depression, to suicidal thoughts, to actual attempts. The numbers of ER visits due to suicide attempts is higher for girls than boys, the rate of suicide committed by black girls under the age of 13 is double that of suicide committed by white girls.

A safe space with young peers to talk to, in the social media spaces where tweens and teens operate and communicate is desperately needed. A space where tweens can talk and realize that they are not alone in feeling overwhelmed, angsty, and having difficulty navigating teen hood, a supportive talk space, without judgement, led by young people, with a backline of professionals to be connected to, or referred to if the feelings of anxiety and being overwhelmed escalates.

BFF has created such a space, with a diverse group of peer advocates and the partnership of mental health specialists for conversation, support, handholding, mental health monitoring and intervention tools.