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The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) had members from both NAMI Mississippi and NAMI Pine Belt to attend Hub City Sneaker Ball II in partnership for our 2022 Community Focus.

There are shared cultural factors that play a role in helping define mental health and supporting well-being, resiliency and healing.

Part of this shared cultural experience — family connections, values, expression through spirituality or music, reliance on community and religious networks — are enriching and can be great sources of strength and support.

However, another part of this shared experience is facing racism, discrimination and inequity that can significantly affect a person’s mental health. Being treated or perceived as “less than” because of the color of your skin can be stressful and even traumatizing. Additionally, members of the Black community face structural challenges accessing the care and treatment they need.

Our goals for the evening of Hub City Sneaker Ball II were twofold:

1. Support local school-aged youth in need by donating over 500 pairs of shoes to students of Hattiesburg Public Schools - We’ve raised over 1,300 and counting, led by a huge donation from Channel Control Merchants (Treasure Hunt, Dirt Cheap, Dirt Cheap Building Supply)!  

2. Raise mental health awareness in Black and African American communities by donating $2000 to state and local non-profit organization, NAMI Mississippi and NAMI Pine Belt of the National Alliance on Mental Illness - We’ve raised over $2,000!  

Our purpose is to continually provide the attention, awareness and support our community needs to improve the lives of those affected. We aim to increase our donations each year and contribute to multiple community nonprofit organizations annually.

Thank you for helping us exceed our goals! It doesn’t stop here, The Boujee Boss Pop-up Market inside Turtle Creek Mall will be taking shoe donations all summer long until our back-to-school give-back event!  You can also give digitally to our community focus on mental health below by clicking the "Donate Now" button!