Option 1
Keynote Assembly
1 session, 40–60 minutes.
A single assembly grounded in personal experience and research-backed strategies.
For Schools & Districts
A partner for schools that want resilience, not just inspiration.
Hashim Garrett, LMSW, brings school-based clinical training, two decades of youth work, and the lived experience behind How to Fall Up into one partnership: helping students and staff build belonging, safety, and the skills to keep going.
The Connection Project
Connect. Build resilience. Rethink forgiveness.
Hashim Garrett, LMSW, is a social worker and consultant with more than ten years of school-based experience. His clinical training from NYU, trauma-responsive approaches, and restorative practices shape compassionate support for children, adolescents, and their families — with sensitivity to the diverse experiences of every community he serves.
Option 2
Two-Day Connection Series
2 days, 4 sessions per day (8 total), 40–50 minutes each.
Ideal for classroom push-ins.
Core Program Takeaways
Drawing on personal experience and research-backed strategies, participants discover:
- 01Practical ways to build trust and real connection with peers and trusted mentors
- 02Coping and resilience skills for stress, setbacks, and hard moments
- 03A new way to think about forgiveness
“His sincerity and honest conversations create a space of trust for our students.”
Jean Fazzino Lain, Retired Principal
What Schools Are Facing
The problems show up in different places.
Students are overwhelmed
Anxiety, conflict, absenteeism, and the lingering effects of trauma are showing up in classrooms every day.
Adults need support too
Teachers, counselors, and administrators are carrying more than ever — and they need tools, not just another initiative.
Programs don't stick
One-off assemblies feel good but rarely change culture. Schools need partners who help design systems that last.
Services
Three ways to work together.
Mix and match based on what your school needs most right now. Every engagement starts with a free 20-minute conversation about your students and goals.
Direct student care
School-Based Clinical Support
- Individual counseling & crisis intervention
- Trauma-informed biopsychosocial assessments
- Restorative practices & de-escalation
- IEP/504-aligned documentation
Systems-level change
Resilience & Prevention Consulting
- Student belonging & school climate strategy
- SEL systems design and rollout
- Prevention of body-based bullying
- Family outreach & chronic absenteeism support
- Student–adult partnership models
Live engagement
Speaking & Author Programs
- Keynotes and assemblies grounded in lived experience
- Workshops built on the 14 lessons of How to Fall Up
- Educator & family training sessions
- Custom curriculum integration
Example Plan
First-Semester Initiative Plan
A sample framework developed for a high school prioritizing body-based bullying prevention, social-emotional support, and personal attention for students.
Areas of need addressed
- Prevention of body-based bullying — the highest-need area flagged by student survey data.
- Social-emotional support — teaching coping, communication, and help-seeking before crisis.
- Personal attention and support — building rapport with 9th and 10th graders before a first referral or attendance dip.
- Student-adult partnership — using focus groups and exit tickets so students shape the program.
What the plan included
- Two-day workshop series embedded in freshman/sophomore health classes.
- Ongoing hallway, cafeteria, and classroom presence to build trust early.
- Staff self-care professional development to support the adults doing the work.
- Family outreach designed as partnership, not just crisis contact.
- Success measured through exit tickets and small student focus groups.
This is one example. Every school plan is customized based on your survey data, discipline trends, and student voice.
Why Hashim
Lived experience, then clinical authority.
At fifteen, Hashim was shot at point-blank range and left paralyzed — the visible result of years of bullying, witnessing violence at home, and a boy's conditioning to bury fear until it turned into rage, gangs, and self-harm. He knows what your most withdrawn student is carrying because he carried it.
He refused hatred, and in 2001 founded Wisdom and Understanding, LLC — spending two decades in schools nationwide as a speaker and youth-development specialist. But coaching wasn't enough. To meet complex trauma with the care young people deserve, he returned to school for his BSW at Rutgers and his MSW at NYU Silver.
Hurt people hurt people. His mission is to help people help themselves — so students walk out of your building knowing they are stronger than they realize.
How It Works
A partnership, not a performance.
01
Identify the need
Start with your data: surveys, discipline trends, absenteeism, and what students and staff are actually saying.
02
Choose the right entry point
A single keynote, a half-day workshop, a clinical support placement, or a year-long partnership — matched to your goals and budget.
03
Build relationships first
The work begins with trust. Hallway presence, staff check-ins, and family outreach happen before — and alongside — formal programming.
04
Measure what matters
Exit tickets, focus groups, attendance, and behavior data. We adjust based on student voice, not just satisfaction scores.
Let's design something that fits your school.
Tell me about your students, your timeline, and what you're hoping to change. I'll respond within two business days with a suggested scope and next steps.
Request a School Consultation