Providing Skills for Club Members to Succeed in Life

The Member Emotional & Social Health (MESH) program promotes positive social and emotional skill development, addresses mental health needs, and reduces the impacts of toxic stress and childhood trauma among our members. Our dedicated social work staff, along with several bachelor’s- and master’s-level interns, implement evidence-based strategies, including individual counseling, mentoring, and small-group interventions, to build and strengthen key resilience factors for our members. Programs and training support staff, members, and their families through interventions, referrals, and partnerships with community organizations.

One way our MESH Team supports Club youth as they develop strong character and healthy relationships is through focused, engaging workshops designed to build and practice real-world skills that help all kids grow and thrive. In March, our MESH staff led a lesson on friendship for Club members at our South Knoxville Elementary School Club. During the session, members explored characteristics and choices that are Friendship Builders (things that make our friendships grow stronger) and Friendship Breakers (choices that hurt our friendships). They then participated in a group conversation about what makes someone a good or bad friend, which helped kids reflect on how they can be a good friend to others and how they want to be treated by their friends.

After the discussion, members had a chance to practice applying these new skills to real-life scenarios of common problems that can arise in friendships, such as someone being left out or not sharing. Each group discussed ways to solve these problems and then presented their ideas to the rest of the groups. The kids had some great ideas and left the workshop ready to be good friends!