Hawaiʻi’s youth mental health crisis is urgent. Spill The Tea Cafe was founded to meet that crisis head-on by creating safe, affirming spaces where LGBTQ+ and BIPOC youth can access free mental health support without fear of judgment. Our unique model blends clinical care, leadership development, and peer mentorship, making mental health care approachable, empowering, and youth-driven.

Our project, Youth-Led Mental Health Pop-Up Series: Healing Oʻahu, One Cup at a Time, will bring this model into neighborhoods across Oʻahu. Led by youth for youth, each pop-up event will offer free therapy check-ins, peer support circles, resilience-building workshops, and leadership activities—all centered around creating visible, joyful spaces for healing. Teens will serve free boba tea, facilitate community conversations, and distribute self-care kits, breaking down barriers to mental health support while building connection and belonging.

What makes Spill The Tea Cafe different is that we don’t just provide therapy — we build a pipeline of future mental health leaders. We train local students, peer mentors, and interns to develop clinical skills, leadership capacity, and self-confidence, addressing Hawaiʻi’s critical shortage of mental health providers from the ground up. Our teens aren’t just recipients of care—they are active healers, creators, and change agents.

The pop-up series will launch this youth-powered movement into new communities, particularly in areas where traditional mental health services are scarce. By showing up in parks and gathering spaces with open arms (and open minds), we make it easy for teens to connect, share, and heal without stigma. We envision every pop-up as a spark—igniting hope, community, and a ripple effect of healing across the island.

With your support, we can activate youth leaders, expand access to free therapy, and transform how mental health care is delivered across Oʻahu—one cup, one conversation, and one connection at a time.