Build-a-Block Workshop: Healthy Neighborhoods Through the Eyes of Young People
Youth & Community Advocates (Segment 1) AND Children aged 5-10 (Segment 2)
Thursday, September 4, 2025, 2:30-4:15pm
Martin University (2186 N Sherman Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana 46218)
In the face of sweeping and significant cuts to the local healthcare budget, many of the structures meant to advance child and adolescent health equity are being undermined at their very foundations. In response, it’s critical that youth workers, youth-serving clinicians, and youth-serving organizations intentionally and consistently defer to youth voices in the formation of their core value systems, collective demands, and advocacy approaches. Guided by the spirit of co-design, this workshop aims to (1) spotlight the history, “best practice” methods, and key ethical considerations of co-designing community health interventions with Indy’s young people; (2) critically reflect on the process of curating an “ideal neighborhood block” based on a collection of artworks made by local kids (primarily Black, Brown, and low-income) over the course of summer 2025; and (3) provide a creative, courageous space for even more local kids to participate in the Indiana Health Equity Symposium by building their own “ideal neighborhood block” using Legos and other crafts.