C.A.T.C.H. YOUTH Continues Its Upstream Ascent With Community Symposium
Pueblo City County Library District | Rawling Main Branch
CATCHING TEENS UPSTREAM: Symposium Snapshot
Date: Thursday, May 16, 2025
Time: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: Rawlings Library, 4th Floor (Ryals Room), Pueblo, CO
Who Should Attend: Teens, parents, educators, community leaders, and wellness advocates
Highlights Include:
Youth-led panel discussions
Interactive creative stations
Community-based conversations
Artistic engagement for well-being
Register: Scan the QR code or contact:
roxypignanelli@gmail.com | 719-778-1848
A groundbreaking youth mental health initiative in Pueblo is preparing to take its next major step forward. On May 16, the community is invited to participate in CATCHING TEENS UPSTREAM, a citywide symposium aimed at amplifying teen voices and reimagining how wellness support is delivered through the arts.
C.A.T.C.H. YOUTH—short for Center for Arts, Creative Training, and Community Healing Youth—is the brainchild of educator and activist Roxy Pignanelli and her team at Pignanelli Partners. Backed by a $150,000 planning grant from the Colorado Health Foundation, the initiative integrates arts-based healing with mental wellness strategies, focusing on prevention rather than crisis response.
The upcoming symposium, to be held at the Rawlings Library, is designed as a conversation—not a lecture. It brings together teens, parents, educators, mental health professionals, and community stakeholders for an honest dialogue about the lived experiences of today’s youth. Through interactive panels, breakout sessions, and artistic expression, participants will explore what it means to grow up in an increasingly complex world—and what resources are needed to ensure mental wellness and resilience.
“Too often, we wait until there’s a crisis before we act,” said Pignanelli. “Our approach is about catching our youth upstream—before the waterfall—by giving them the tools to understand their emotions, build community, and find their voice through creative expression.”
The arts are the cornerstone of this initiative. Building on years of experience with the teen-performed suicide prevention play No One Hears Unless You Scream, the C.A.T.C.H. YOUTH team has seen firsthand how storytelling, drama, music, and visual arts can help teens process trauma, reduce stigma, and articulate complex emotions.
According to the 2023 Colorado Healthy Kids Survey, over a third of Pueblo-area high school students reported experiencing poor mental health “most of the time” or “always” in a 30-day period. The C.A.T.C.H. YOUTH project aims to reverse that trend by offering both clinical and creative tools in spaces where young people feel seen, heard, and safe.
“We’re not just talking about mental health,” said Dr. Callico Jones, a consulting partner and professor of social work at CSU Pueblo. “We’re designing an entire ecosystem of care—accessible, inclusive, and rooted in the arts—to support the whole person, not just their symptoms.”
The May symposium will serve as a key benchmark in the planning year of the initiative, offering an opportunity for the public to engage in focus groups, learn about the project’s evolution, and shape the blueprint for what comes next. Insights gathered during the event will directly inform the long-term design of a new adolescent wellness and resiliency center proposed for Pueblo—one that includes crisis stabilization beds, outpatient care, peer mentoring, family support, and a full spectrum of healing-centered creative practices.
The project is especially focused on reaching youth in Pueblo’s underserved neighborhoods, where access to wellness services is limited, and generational poverty compounds the challenges teens face. “This is about equity,” said Pignanelli. “We’re prioritizing the youth who have been historically marginalized and left without a seat at the table.”
The team behind C.A.T.C.H. YOUTH—comprising experts in education, arts, social work, and public health—includes Dr. Jones, Kennedy Pugh, Sol Sandoval, Kristin Hoffman, and former District 70 Superintendent Ed Smith. Together, they bring over a century of combined experience and a passion for serving Pueblo’s youth.
As part of the planning process, the team is conducting comprehensive research with input from families, students, educators, and service providers across Pueblo County. Their goal is to create a replicable model of upstream support that centers youth voice, cultural responsiveness, and creative wellness.
The Pueblo Star Journal has been following this initiative since its inception and is proud to support ongoing coverage of this transformative project.
“The work of C.A.T.C.H. YOUTH is not just about emotional well-being—it’s about community, creativity, and hope,” said Kennedy Pugh. “And on May 16, we invite the entire community to be part of that vision.”
The CATCHING TEENS UPSTREAM symposium takes place Thursday, May 16, 2025, at the Rawlings Library in downtown Pueblo. For more information and to register, contact Roxy Pignanelli at roxypignanelli@gmail.com or 719-778-1848. You can also register by scanning the QR code found on event flyers or in the Pueblo Star Journal. A new C.A.T.C.H. YOUTH website is forthcoming and will serve as the central hub for updates, resources, and community engagement opportunities.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org for support