Inclusive health fair catering to LA's marginalized youth coming to LA Southwest College

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An inclusive celebration focused on your mental health and well-being is coming to southwest Los Angeles.

The Nia Foundation will host its 2026 'Healing in Motion' Community Health and Wellness Fair on Saturday, May 16 at LA Southwest College.

The free, family event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., offering access to mental health resources, workshops, activities for youth and families, plus free food and giveaways.

Dr. Artis Callaham, a longtime school psychologist and co-founder of Nia Foundation's Project Safe Spaces, said the event is meant to put help within the reach of those who need it most.

"It's all about marginalized youth," Callaham said. "Everyone eats, everyone has a gift, we're gonna have raffles throughout the day."

In addition to offering a children's zone, where kids can learn how to write poetry by trained poets, the event will feature peace drum performances and LGBTQ+ speakers.

Like the work of Nia Project Safe Spaces, everything at the community fair is free, CEO Aden Tucker said.

Safe Spaces launched three years ago out of a need Tucker and Callaham saw through their respective school experiences.

"Our queer inner-city kids didn't feel like they really had a place where they belonged, or someone that they could talk to," Tucker said. "We wanted to create something that, you know, would give these kids a space to be able to just exist in the world, and be themselves and feel encouraged.

The organization provides a drop-in clubhouse, where youth are empowered as they center their mental health and personal development.

In addition to offering community building and counseling support, Safe Spaces is also working to create more sustainable housing opportunities through safe housing pods, where youth and transitional-aged youth can get help with life skills, job applications and career development necessary for success.

"You can get a child in housing, you can get a child in school, but you're not going to see a major increase in retaining that housing... until you bridge that gap where they're missing a lot of the family support," Dr. Callaham said.

For more on Nia Project Safe Spaces or to donate, visit their website or Instagram.

LA Southwest College is at 1600 W Imperial Hwy, in Los Angeles.

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