Community Combats Mental Health Crisis with Festival

September 29, 2025
• In what felt like a precursor to this weekend’s Harvest Fair, about forty local organizations and businesses spread out across Greene’s Field for the inaugural Needham Thrives Festival.

Families practiced their modern Bollywood dance moves. Karate students chopped wood blocks. Adults took a mental health workshop. Kids ran across the field, playing games and collecting red clown noses — all with the goal of fostering community support and wellness.

The Needham Thrives Festival, hosted by the Needham Resilience Network, aimed to promote collective well-being through physical and emotional exercises. Mental health has proven to be “an increasing challenge across nearly every sphere of Needham life,” organizer Bala Venkat said.

NRN participants who tabled at the festival first attended a mental health first aid training and gathered information from their respective communities. At the festival, they compiled their findings and resources. Needham Youth and Family Services, the Charles River YMCA, Needham Community Council and school and fitness organizations, among others, shared how they’re addressing mental wellness in their spaces.

Coming together as a community goes a long way toward mental health, Venkat said, particularly “during these difficult times.”

“Given the current climate with the global issues ongoing, we realize that even within Needham, we are polarized, and a lot of the issues that we see around the world are impacting our mental well-being,” she said. “As we know, emotional well-being is a very important factor for us to thrive. Hence, Needham Thrives.”

The NRN is composed of community members across organizations and identity groups who aim to connect and support residents and tackle local social concerns, with mental health being a prominent one. The Y and NCC partnered on the free event.

In the midst of a mental health crisis, building community and belonging for everyone significantly boosts mental wellness, said Sara Shine, director of Youth and Family Services. In her eight years in Needham, Shine said she’s seen an increase both in the number of mental health concerns and their acuity.

Her department led the mental health first aid training, which helps people identify others experiencing a mental health episode and instructs them on how to effectively respond. Doing so breaks down stigma and builds awareness, Shine said.

“I think that Needham, we’re a very lucky place,” she said. “I think that we have a lot of community leaders who really care about mental wellness, and so there are a lot of supports in place for Needham residents to be able to help them when they get into a place where they’re struggling… So in that way, I feel very lucky to work in a town that’s so well-supported.”

NRN Co-director Beth Pinals, who works as a psychologist, said the festival’s turnout indicates the community’s willingness to combat that stigma and create a more open and inclusive dialogue around mental health.

By deepening connections and relationships among Needham leaders, Pinals said the town becomes stronger and more effective at responding in serious situations.

“It’s a really beautiful piece of scaffolding that we hope just amplifies,” Pinals said.

Nichole Argo, who co-directs NRN with Pinals, told attendees that breaking down silos and “communicating across differences” helps the community tackle local challenges together.

“We began this in 2022 when Needham was experiencing a rise in division and a rise in reported hate incidents,” she said of NRN. “Our first cohort created a community response team to counter hate and foster social cohesion.” The group’s second cohort focused on mental health.

While students appear more transparent about mental health struggles, METCO Assistant Director Juliet Hazard-Riley found there still exist challenges in the Needham Public Schools.

METCO, which enrolls students of color outside Needham into the school district, supports close to 200 Needham students, Hazard-Riley said. However, there are an insufficient number of therapists and counselors of color who can best serve those students, she said. The festival and future conversation can generate more discussion in order to address that, she added.

“When we come together, we make Needham stronger,” Hazard-Riley said.

Trisha Hill, accompanied by her 10-year-old black lab Terzi, said she has felt right at home since moving to town almost three years ago.

“I love partaking in community… Needham has so many different cultures,” Hill said. “It’s wonderful. Look at all the different ages, different people, cultures.”

The dogs, specifically Officer Rocket with the Needham Police Department, appeared to be the highlight of the festival for children. Argo’s 12-year-old son Idan and his friend Ari mused about the various activities, with Ari making special note of the donuts from Dunkin.

“I love all the cultural tables because they show about different cultures around the world and how they celebrate their holidays and how they live their life,” Idan Argo said. “It’s very inspiring.”

The festival, to Hazard-Riley, showcases Needham’s desire to care for its neighbors.

“It makes us aware of how rich our community is in terms of resources,” she said, “and we can rely on each other for some of that support.”