Vanessa Elias - Thrive with a Guide

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Vanessa Elias - Thrive with a Guide Vanessa is a human connection and mental health activist, certified parent coach, and speaker. Founder of Block Party USA.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) parent support group facilitator. Member of The Aspen Institute’s Weave Speakers Bureau. Vanessa Elias is a mental health activist, certified parent coach, speaker, and writer featured on NPR, PBS, and in the WSJ. She is the founder of Thrive with a Guide, LLC and serves as a group facilitator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) as well as a board member of NAMI Southwest CT. Block Party USA is her passion project. Parents seek her out because what they’ve been trying doesn’t work and hasn’t improved life for their children, for themselves, and for their families. She helps parents shift their lens, translate their children's behaviors, and take actionable steps to change life in their homes – to achieve healthier family relationships and lasting, meaningful connections. Vanessa is passionate about learning and sharing innovative, evidence-based practices in mental health. She has received certifications and trainings from the leading practitioners in the field including world-renowned authorities on DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) and Yale Child Study Center’s Eli Lebowitz, Ph.D., the developer of SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions). Vanessa earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Boston University. Vanessa and her husband have three daughters currently in college and high school. She was born in Germany, grew up in the U.S., and raised her children in Utah, London, and Zürich before moving to Connecticut in 2013. Having experienced very different parenting environments, Vanessa is acutely aware of how a region's parenting culture affects children's emotional well-being. Vanessa's mission is to talk openly and often about mental health, redefine what it means to be a good parent, and guide parents to discover their power - to transform their lives and bring deep connection and joy back into their families. To connect with Vanessa:

Thrive with a Guide
Website - thrivewithaguide.com
Facebook - facebook.com/thrivewithaguide
Instagram - instagram.com/thrivewithaguide
Twitter -

Block Party USA
Website - blockpartyusa.org
Facebook - facebook.com/blockpartyusa

I’ve heard from so many of you about the gatherings on your streets, with chairs pulled together, coolers filled with po...
10/14/2026

I’ve heard from so many of you about the gatherings on your streets, with chairs pulled together, coolers filled with popsicles, and kids playing freely. You now have neighbors you can call by name and a group chat that’s just getting started.

I have a small ask of you! If you organized a neighborhood gathering this summer – a block party, a driveway hangout, a cul-de-sac cookout, or a courtyard get-together – please “register” it so that it can count towards your state’s total! Please do by Sunday at blockpartyusa.org/register-now

It only takes a couple of minutes and helps us share the true story of what America accomplished together this summer!

And if you haven’t yet organized your micro-local neighborhood gathering, it’s never too late! I have my next Zoom Office Hours on Friday, October 23 from 12:00-12:30pm ET, and I would love to help you make it happen.

You can sign up at blockpartyusa.org/office-hours for reminders or you can just show up by using the Meeting ID: 820 0975 1912.

PS: If you have any photos or videos from your neighborhood gathering that we could share, we'd love for you to send them to [email protected]!

If you saw my reel, you know the story behind these flowers, but they are too beautiful not to share a picture of them! ...
10/09/2026

If you saw my reel, you know the story behind these flowers, but they are too beautiful not to share a picture of them! The beauty is in the flowers themselves and also woven so deeply into a now cherished memory that reminded me of what the point of this work is.

These flowers reminded me that:

• Our actions and kind gestures towards another person impact them more than we often even realize

• Parents can teach their children powerful values through their actions, instead of just what they say.

I know it isn’t always easy to take that first step in being the one who starts the movement in your neighborhood, but the ripple effects from your brave step are so much bigger than you even realize.

Be brave. Be the one to make a change right where you are today.

10/09/2026

I have been inspired to do this work because I personally know the difference that one person, one neighbor, one connection can make in your life both as a child and as an adult. Last week, on National Good Neighbor Day, I was reminded again of that deep power.

As I was preparing dinner, my doorbell rang. When I went to the door, my neighbor and his two children greeted me with big smiles. One daughter was holding this vase of flowers, and the other had a gift bag of brownies. The girls had made the brownies to give out to neighbors, and the flowers were a congratulations/thank you to me for working to get an official Connecticut Good Neighbor Day date and proclamation from our governor.

Surprised and touched, my eyes filled up as I gave them my thanks. And I write this, my eyes brim with tears again. This unexpected, beautiful, kind gesture moved me deeply – I felt cared for, appreciated, valued, and seen. I feel the swelling of my heart in my chest.

That night reminded me of two truths.
1) That we often don’t realize how our actions and kind gestures towards another person impact them, and
2) that through their actions, parents are teaching their children what they value, what is important to them, and how their children can make a difference in someone else’s life.

While Good Neighbor Day has passed, any day is a great day to show up for those who live closest to you. We all have power every single day to make a difference in someone else’s life.

So thrilled to have our town’s inaugural “Find Your People Fair” for all Wilton adults (18+) TOMORROW Saturday, October ...
10/02/2026

So thrilled to have our town’s inaugural “Find Your People Fair” for all Wilton adults (18+) TOMORROW Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 1 PM to 4 PM at the Wilton Library!

The "Find Your People Fair" is a follow-up event to our March screening of the film "Join or Die,” which highlighted the importance of joining a club for both personal and national well-being.

This free event offers adults (18+) in Wilton the chance to discover various clubs, activities, leagues, recreational programs, and social groups available in our community.

Everyone is invited to stop by, meet new people, and discover ways to get involved in the 30 wonderful Wilton-based clubs and groups for adults that will be there, including:
Her Wealth Collective, Humanists and Freethinkers of Fairfield County, Wilton Encore, Winds of Mahj, Trout Unlimited, Stay at Home in Wilton, Georgetown Volunteer Fire company, Rotary Club of Wilton, Wilton Woman’s Club, Wi-Act, PEO Chapters, Kiwanis Club of Wilton, Wilton Go Green, Wilton R.E.A.C.H, Wilton Senior Pickleball, Wilton Library (Poetry society, open play mahjong/games, 3rd Thursday Book Group, Storytelling group, and hiking groups),Taste Life Twice Writing, Wilton Presbyterian Church, Wilton American Legion post 86, Wilton Singers, Daughters of the American Revolution, Wilton Pride, Wilton YMCA, Wilton Republican Town Committee, Wilton Democrats Town Committee, and Wilton NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness.)

AND we have some new groups that are trying to form and will be at our “incubator” table to collect sign ups and gauge interest, including Social Single Moms and Wilton Screen and Stage!

Due to space constraints, the fair is limited to Wilton-based groups, which meet regularly and whose members are 18+. An extensive directory of all 18+ groups, both in and around Wilton, will be made available online after the event through Wilton Social Services.

And if are local and have a group you'd like to be included in the online directory please fill out the form in comments!

This program is made possible by the generosity and collaboration of Block Party USA, Wilton Social Services, Wilton Library, and Wilton Youth Council (WYC), who are all members of WYC’s coalition's initiative "Wilton is Where You Belong," which aims to foster connections, build community, and reduce the negative effects of social isolation and loneliness.

I'm joining Weave: The Social Fabric Project's BIG READ, and I'd love for you to join me! I first read “How to Know a Pe...
10/01/2026

I'm joining Weave: The Social Fabric Project's BIG READ, and I'd love for you to join me! I first read “How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen” by David Brooks two and a half years ago, right when it came out. I loved it and wanted everyone to read it.

So I’m obviously thrilled that from today, October 1st through November 5th, thousands of us all across the country will be reading it together. It’s a book about how to really see the people around us, and let them see us too.

Connection has to start somewhere, and many of us are curious about how to do that effectively. This is a low-lift, high-impact way to do it. You don't have to host anything or go anywhere! You just have to read and show up online for discussions. Be a part of something bigger and just read and join us.

What it looks like:
📖 Read at your own pace, maybe a couple chapters a week?
💬 Join weekly conversations (I’ll be joining as a guest facilitator on 11/5 at 3pm ET)
to connect with other readers and share your reflections
🎉 Celebrate together with the author David Brooks himself on November 5

Register for free here (weavers.org/bigread) and let's read this one together.

People often wonder “What is the best way to cultivate connection in my community?”If you’re looking for actionable and ...
09/29/2026

People often wonder “What is the best way to cultivate connection in my community?”

If you’re looking for actionable and impactful ideas on how to get started with connecting common threads in your neighborhood, we’re having a conversation you’ll want to be a part of.

Join me tomorrow, September 30th at 2 pm ET, for the final session in Weave Social Fabric Project and DOROT’s four-part series focused on how we strengthen social connections in our community. Join us as we outline practical ways to transform neighborhoods into places for connection.

The panel will include:

Vanessa Elias | , founder, Block Party USA
Arica Gonzalez | , executive director, The Urban Oasis |
Amy Schenkel, pastor, Local Mission, Neland Avenue Church |
Claire Solomon Nisen | , manager, Lasting Impressions, (Moderator)

Over Zoom, free. The link to register is in the comments.

People often wonder “What is the best way to cultivate connection in my community?”If you’re looking for actionable and ...
09/29/2026

People often wonder “What is the best way to cultivate connection in my community?”

If you’re looking for actionable and impactful ideas on how to get started with connecting common threads in your neighborhood, we’re having a conversation you’ll want to be a part of.

Join me tomorrow, September 30th at 2 pm ET, for the final session in Weave: The Social Fabric Project and 's four-part series focused on how we strengthen social connections in our community. Join us as we outline practical ways to transform neighborhoods into places for connection.

Over zoom, free, link to register in comments!

As I was thinking about the different invitations we can extend to our neighbors in honor of National Good Neighbor Day ...
09/23/2026

As I was thinking about the different invitations we can extend to our neighbors in honor of National Good Neighbor Day and US Chamber of Connection’s Welcome Week, there was a certain invitation that I thought holds a lot of power we don’t talk about.

Asking for help.

Or, in invitation terms, inviting someone to support you.

When we ask for help, we often worry about being a burden or inconveniencing our neighbors. But the truth is that being asked to help, and being given the opportunity to help, can transform a person.

Shift your lens and look at it like you are providing a service! “Helper’s High” is a real thing as it triggers the release of “feel-good” chemicals in the brain like dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin. It can also help someone feel like they have use and they matter.

So, how can you invite someone to help you?

You could ask someone to help bring in your mail while you’re away on a trip, take your dog for a walk when you’re gone for a long day, or even ask someone to drive you to pick up your car from the shop. These are all easy yeses for so many people, and open the door to building trust and connection.

Don’t forget to make your neighboring invites official by registering them with the US Chamber of Connection! (Link in comments!)

So this week, try just one invitation, even if it feels small. I bet you’ll notice that you like the feeling after all!

09/22/2026

It’s OFFICIAL - yes I might be a little bit excited 🙂
I’m thrilled to share that Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has not only signed the act to have September 28th as officially CT Good Neighbor Day, he has also issued a proclamation which I just received in the mail today!!
Strong neighborhoods are the foundation of a strong Connecticut and a resilient nation! At Block Party USA, we know that when neighbors connect, families feel supported, children reap the benefits of neighborhood play and jobs, everyone has a greater sense of belonging, and communities become places to thrive.
More neighborhood connection means less loneliness, improved health, stronger families, and a more united nation.
Even if you don’t live in Connecticut, National Good Neighbor is Monday so take one small step, extend even just one invite to improve your life and get to know your neighbors. A simple hello. A wave. Introducing yourself. A shared meal. A block party. We have the power to make the change we want to see in our communities.

I’m obviously keen on block parties 😜 but there are a zillion wonderful ways to INVITE your neighbors! ❤️
09/21/2026

I’m obviously keen on block parties 😜 but there are a zillion wonderful ways to INVITE your neighbors! ❤️

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