Grantee Spotlight on Take This
Meet our national Play it Forward Fund recipient: Take This!🎮🌟
They’re on a mission to decrease stigma and increase support for mental health in gaming communities.
Through evidence-based programs, training, and resources, Take This supports both game creators and players. They work to create a gaming community that welcomes and supports people experiencing mental health challenges while recognizing the humanity behind the games we love.
We’re proud to support their vital work in making gaming spaces healthier and more inclusive for everyone.
Our Interview with Take This
Gamers Engaged: How will this Play-it-Forward grant support your organization?
Take This: These funds will go toward supporting 1) the AFK Program which provides quiet, calm, supportive spaces at gaming conventions, and 2) to the Accelerate program, our mentorship and development program for early career professionals interested in the intersection of games and mental health.
Gamers Engaged: What's your vision for the future?
Take This: One of the best things about the gaming community is that it IS a community. People play games for reasons like fun and enjoyment, but they also play as a way to connect with others.
Our vision is a gaming space where people can show up as their authentic selves, challenges and all, and find support through connecting with others, accessing resources, and feeling seen, heard, and valued.
We've been working in this space for over a decade now, and in the next few years we want to continue normalizing mental health challenges, raising awareness of available resources, and providing education to community leaders and game developers who, in turn, share those learnings with their own communities.
Gamers Engaged: What opportunities does your organization offer for community engagement?
Take This: The Take This AFK Program is a fantastic opportunity for the community to get engaged. For over 10 years, Take This has been providing calm, quiet spaces at gaming conventions like PAX. This program is not possible without amazing volunteers who staff the room.
In addition to the quiet room, the program includes the Hope Booth and panels and workshops. This is our outreach table where we share information about our organization, collect donations, and offer mental health resources. At most conventions we attend, Take This sponsors and runs panels based around mental health and games.
Gamers Engaged: What makes you stand out from the crowd?
Take This: Take This was the first mental health non-profit to serve the gaming community. When we were first founded, we stood out because there was no one else in the space. That's certainly not the case anymore, which is fantastic!
One things we really pride ourselves on is the quality of the professionals working here. We're a mental health and games non-profit that is led by a psychologist with a game design degree. Our staff are all mental health clinicians with the exception of a public school teacher and a former librarian. Weaving together games and mental health is in our DNA as an org and as a staff, and I couldn't be prouder of the team we have.
Gamers Engaged: What's something really cool you have done in the past year?
Take This: This year we kicked off our first season of Accelerate, an early-career fellowship program for future leaders at the intersection of games and mental health. This pilot program features five amazing mentors, 10 fantastic fellows, and 24 weeks of curriculum culminating in a hands-on experience at GDC and the presentation of a capstone project.
