The EmpowerMIND: Wellness Summit Helped South Central ‘Take Back” Its Mental Health
The 3rd Annual EmpowerMIND: South Central Wellness Summit, held this past Saturday, was a call to return to oneself. Founded in 2022, it is rooted in an ancestral perspective that honors the wisdom, resilience, and healing practices of Black and Brown Indigenous traditions that have sustained our communities for generations.
“We’re one of the founding organizations of the South Central Wellness Collaborative. The 3rd Annual Empowerment event was meant to address the gaps folks in South Central have when it comes to accessing mental health education and wellness,” said John Kwesi Broadway, founder of Artivists United. “We also brought together other organizations to provide resources for residents’ material needs such as grocery distributions, metro cards and diapers.
Every year, the EmpowerMIND: The South Central Wellness Summit’s theme reflects the moment in which we are living. This year, increased immigration raids, the slashing of the social services safety net, the erasure of our history, and a continuing housing crisis played a huge part in developing the theme of “Liberation Through Wellness.” Broadway says it centers on the group’s effort to amplify the message that in order to attain self-determination, equitable rights, and the removal of systemic or internal barriers, people have to focus on their full potential–mind, body and spirit.
“In today’s panels and workshops, we are talking about the mental wellness journey and the relationship between wellness and liberation. We believe that in order to liberate ourselves, we have to become well. So helping people make some of those connections and connecting them to organizations that can help them do that is of the utmost importance,” Broadway stated.
Happening on the 30th Annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which was April 25, 2026, the EmpoweredMIND Wellness event allowed Community Coalition and its key partner the South Los Angeles Movement (SLAM), formerly known as the Service Planning Area (SPA) 6 Coalition to inform participants about how to dispose of unwanted, unused, or expired medications at thousands of locations nationwide. By collecting expired items such as tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs are accepted, the DEA hopes to reduce the risk of misuse and overdose—particularly among youth and vulnerable populations. By safely disposing of these medications, the initiative helps limit access to substances that can be easily misused while also protecting our water systems from improper disposal.
Other community partners that sponsored included Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, Los Angeles Council District 9, Project Return, Avalon Carver, Changing the Narrative and South Central Lamp. Together, these organizations offered free workshops, panels, yoga, a resource fair, food and music as the community came together to take a collective breath.