A Big Moment for Heal, Homie: Partnering with the Pittsburgh Steelers
A step forward in making wellness more visible, accessible, and rooted in community.
Every now and then you get a moment that reminds you why you started. Back in October 2025 , Heal, Homie had the opportunity to partner with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a project centered around community and wellness. As someone building this brand here in Pittsburgh, it meant a lot to collaborate with an organization that has such deep roots in the city. The Steelers shared a write-up about the partnership, and I wanted to share it here.
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From The Pittsburgh Steelers
Empowering the youth: The Steelers Social Justice Committee hosted a group of kids at Acrisure Stadium on Tuesday for a Youth Empowerment and Mental Health Yoga Event.
The event was held in conjunction with Heal, Homie and Steel Smiling. It brought together youth from Neighborhood Resilience Project, Gwen's Girls, Amachi Pittsburgh and the Homeless Children's Education Fund.
On hand for the event were members of the Steelers Social Justice Committee and others who are looking to make an impact with the youth, including Calvin Austin III, Chuck Clark, Malik Harrison and Alex Highsmith.
"I think mental health is something that's just overlooked, and it's not talked about enough," said Highsmith. "There has been more awareness raised on it. Just being vulnerable as an NFL player, I've struggled a lot with mental health throughout my career.
"I think there's a lot of people that struggle with it, but they keep silent about it. I think it's something people need to be more vulnerable about because a lot people deal with it.
"I wish I would have had someone talk to me about mental health growing up. I think it's something if you can talk about it with kids, make them aware, and let them know it's something they might face growing up.
"It's important to bring awareness to it. I know I struggled with it when I was a kid. I know there's kids out who struggle with mental health, struggle with depression. So, just to be a light for them and show the ways that I've dealt with it I hope helps them."
The event began with a TEAM playbook activity that is part of Steel Smiling's program, with players being asked questions such as what they do to calm themselves before a game and what strategies they use to maintain their energy.
"I created the playbook for this specific event," said Julius Boatwright from Steel Smiling. "I was thinking, what kind of tool can I create for both the young folks and the players to use for it to be interactive, and they could use it on their own. And I started thinking about teamwork and how that plays into sports, and how it shows up in school settings. I wanted to create an acronym that is easy to remember and something that is action oriented. So, I came up with Treating Every Action Mindfully (TEAM). It's something that can resonate with the kids and the players. In terms of the actual activities and the practices, these are all practices that people already use for mental health and wellness.
"I'm seeing a lot more athletes who are publicly acknowledging and sharing about their own mental health journeys in a way that is really inspiring. So when the kids are looking for inspiration and somebody to open that door for them, it's amazing to see these athletes doing it because the kids are watching and they're picking up on that."
Following the TEAM playbook session, it was on to the relaxation of yoga and sound bath to work on the mental health aspect that is often ignored by many, especially young people.
"For this event to happen, it really means everything to me," said Jonathan 'Quest' Brown, founder of Heal, Homie, and wellness practitioner who did the yoga instruction and sound bath. "I grew up in Pittsburgh, watching the Steelers, and now to have the opportunity to be partnered with them under my company to give back to the next generation is a big thing. For me, these practices have changed my life. To have this opportunity to share these tools with the younger generation, to help them find peace, strength and purpose early is wonderful.
"It's important for the youth to see the Steelers in this very vulnerable moment. A lot of times athletes are put on a pedestal. They are sometimes recognized for that one thing they do on the field or on the basketball court. But I think it's important to show the youth that these professional athletes are just like them, and they experience mental health challenges just like everyone else. What I am hoping for, and I think the Steelers are also hoping for as well, is by sharing their stories and their presence, it gives the players an opportunity to humanize their experience and inspire the young people who look up to them."
The event concluded with the players joining the youth for dinner, while having relaxing conversation about the benefits of mental health and wellness.