On the heels of World Mental Health Day on Saturday, October 10, Kicking The Stigma partnered with Indy Art Center to host the girls flag football teams from North Central and Warren Central at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center for an art wellness workshop.

Joined by Colts players Davon Booth, Tanor Bortolini, Caden Curry, DJ Giddens, Seth McGowan, Mitchell Melton, Anthony Richardson Sr., Spencer Shrader and Jonathan Taylor, 50 student-athletes spent a few hours learning how art can be used as a tool to manage stress, as well as an outlet for expression.

"There's so many instances where we see students who maybe can't use their words to express a thought, a feeling, an emotion, something that they're maybe going through," Indy Art Center director of community programs Becca Nisenbaum said. "And art is a different tool, a different way to put that either onto a canvas, onto a page, to create a scripture."

Led by instructors from Indy Art Center, athletes, players and Colts Cheerleaders were split up and learned how art and different colors can reflect emotion and expression.

Kicking The Stigma has worked for years to minimize the negative connotation surrounding mental health in sports. It encourages athletes to speak up and provide safe spaces for them to do so.

"Just kind of going out and being able to promote, you know, mental health awareness. You know, just that it's okay to not be okay, and that not every day is going to be perfect," center Tanor Bortolini said. "But just reach out to others, you know, and just understand that even in the low moments, if there's a positive in the whole thing, I think it is really important. And again, if you can help one person with that, I think it makes all the difference in the world."

Kicking the Stigma and the Colts have committed over $33 million to expand treatment and research and raise awareness for mental health across the country.