Five-time NBA All-Star Kevin Love has launched a social-emotional learning program to help teens express their emotions and de-stigmatize vulnerability.
The program, designed to help young people understand and manage their mental health, has expanded nationally and includes more than a dozen creative lessons to help them express themselves, including using photography, creative writing, and music. Love developed the program in collaboration with educators and experts, focusing on high school students. Nearly 10,000 of them have recently completed or begun the program in 250 in-school and after-school programs across 37 states.
Love and his team of educators plan to expand to middle and high schools and train teachers to teach the lessons. Love, who has been open about his own mental illness, hopes that the skills they teach students will lead them to practice empathy not only with themselves and their peers but also outside the classroom with families, sports teams, and communities at large. The program includes video clips from Love, Suns point guard Chris Paul and other basketball personalities, including actor Bryan Cranston.
The program is designed to give young people a better understanding of mental health, emotional management, and empathy in hopes of helping them better navigate the challenges they face as teens.
