Allen takes his turn seeking support at Collab gathering.
Daniel Allen is looking to help struggling New Haven youth by introducing a Dungeons & Dragons-(DND) based form of therapy “growing [kids] into heroes they wish to be.”
Allen is the founder of Dragon Haven, a online service that uses games like DND to help children build social skills and cope with anxiety. This service couldn’t have come at a better time as national concerns about adult and youth mental health worsening increase due to the Covid ‑19pandemic, said Allen.
Allen made that case to prospective financial backers at the latest “Collab” pitch night.
Dragon Haven was one of ten business ventures that took part in the fall accelator program run by Collab, a nonprofit that helps New Haveners develop new projects with seed money and training. Each wave of the program ends with a pitch night for further support.
Usually the pitch night takes place in a festive in-person gathering highlighting the energy and talent behind emerging new local enterprises. Because of the pandemic, the one involving Dragon Haven took place via Zoom this past Wednesday evening — with the sense of inspiration intact.
Allen is a recreational therapist, therapeutic game master, proud nerd, and clinician at Yale New Haven’s Child Psychiatric Inpatient Unit. His new project accepts kids and young adults fighting mental disorders like depression, anxiety, bullying, loneliness, and indecision.
Participating youth are put in a small group of four to six players for 90-minute weekly sessions. Participants work towards social and communication goals to accomplish in the safe and intimate setting. DND offers the players a storytelling experience as a “great hero on an epic quest” while also working collaboratively, Allen said. After each weekly game session Allen has a debrief with the players.
In the program’s first six months Allen has worked with 44 players, played 200 hours of collaborative gameplay, and currently has 84 percent of the service’s after-school program filled.
Players work towards improving self-esteem, self expression, empathy, resiliency, and friendships. Allen works with the youth’s parents and educators throughout the program.
During Allen’s pitch, he expressed a need for local partners, accessible play spaces, and access to financial aid for participants. The 12-week program cost $480 per participant.
Allen’s hope is to offer the program in schools and therapy agencies in the future.
After Allen’s pitch a viewer asked, “Are you looking for other dungeon masters?” Not until the program expands further, Allen responded. When that time comes, dungeon masters will be required to have a mental health background. (Allen can be reached at this .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))
New Haven is in for many new business treats with help from Collab’s fall accelerator program. Collab co-founders and co-directors Caroline Smith and Margaret Lee made the decision to host the program’s business 11-week curriculum of workshops, weekly one-on-one coaching sessions, and networking opportunities virtually admist the pandemic.
For some participants, Wednesday’s event was the first official pitch they’d ever made.
Isha Norris, founder of Honey Catering, pitched a meal prep business for busy New Haveners with not enough time to eat and cook healthful meals, snacks, and desserts.
Norris, who has lived in New Haven for more than 20 years, is a former local barista, bartender, server, and baker. On Wednesday she used national data trends to show the increase in takeout eating for those with busy lifestyles who often must pick convenience at the expense of healthy eating. “People are only getting busier,” she said.
Norris’ Honey Catering which offers those busy New Haveners nutritious, homecooked, customizable weekly meals. Norris’s cuisines range from American to Italian to Asian. Each week she crafts standard and vegan weekly menus for customers to receive a pack of five meals for $105.
Since starting, Norris has catered to busy professionals, pregnant women, large or growing families, and customers recovering from surgeries.
Norris considers food allergies in her service and cooking time constraints for customers.
In Honey Catering’s future, Norris said, she needs a commercial kitchen space, supplies, investors, appliances, and connections with local farmers.
Viwers kept the Zoom chat busy with words of encouragement and questions throughout each pitch.
The group of ventures also included More Than Walking, Rsgrdn, Kelewele, HEAL, Sankofa Interior Design Service, The Notorious P.I.C, Outer Haven Wines, and the Midnight Oil Collective.
• More Than Walking is a virtual peer mentoring service founded by Jonathan Sigworth. When Sigworth suffered from a spinal cord injury (SCI) at 19 from a bicycle accident, he became paralyzed in his hands and below his arms. Sigworth created his business to bring others with SCI tutorials about independent living skills and a network to gain motivation about “life after injury.”
• Rsgrdn is a low-waste skin and hair care line founded in May by Ruth Onyirimba. Rsgrdn targets stressed communities and demographics ignored in the self care market like black women, femmes, nonbinary, and activists. With raw ingredients, Rsgrdn products are meant to simplify time-consuming self care rituals.
• Shirley Torho is the chief operating officer of Kelewele, a vegan lifestyle brand founded in 2018. The Ghanian brand educates about culture and nutritious eating by providing customers with a vegan menu made up of tasty and imaginative treats made from plantains.
• Health Equity Analytical Lens (HEAL) was founded by finance and policy analysis professional .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). HEAL, a nonprofit, strives to provide marginalized neighborhoods with better access to healthful foods all while advocating for policy change to impact collective health. HEAL develops programs to incubate urban farms and partner with churches and corner stores to provide a steady supply of health foods to black and brown residents.
• New Havener .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) founded Sankofa Interior Design Service with Ghanian roots. Charles provides project assessment, color consultation, furniture consultation, space planning services, and project management to installation to provide customers with a functional and empowering living space.
The Notorious P.I.C. is a photography business that promises to turn average moments in life into celebrations. Teresa Joseph and Chris Randall founded the business. They capture photographic experiences by “instead of waiting for moments to capture we make them.” The Notorious P.I.C does curated photo shoots and co-created photoshoots, and is working on a mobile photography studio (the Mo-Pho).
• Outer Haven Wines is an environmentally friendly natural wine company. Founded by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), the company uses grapes that are grown by organic biodynamic farming practices. Childree handpicks and ferments them using native yeast and bottles it without filtering with no chemicals and little or no sulfur added.
• The Midnight Oil Collective is an artist-led investment program. It was founded by Emily Roller, Edwin Jseph, Danilo Gambini, Allison Chu, and Frances Pollock. Artists receive an art salary and a project budget to create their vision, then go through a three-step process to get the artist’s vision into a producer’s hands, all while documenting their art journey on YouTube and social media. In March the business will launch season two which will accept five projects.
To watch the full Collab Fall Accelerator Pitch Day with each ventures personal story click here.
