About Us

Telling It is a community-based expressive arts program that prioritizes the social-emotional and mental health needs of young individuals by offering safe, uncensored, and judgment-free spaces. We work with youth who are involved with the justice system or experiencing housing instability, with the goal of cultivating resilience, empowering personal strengths, and providing an outlet for processing emotional struggles.

As a U-M Residential College engaged learning program, Telling It has been empowering course-enrolled student interns to collaborate with youth in Southeast Michigan since 2002. U-M students gain hands-on experience through coursework and on-site engagement, while local young people benefit from our therapeutic expressive arts programming that fosters creativity, self-expression, and play.