Fashion Designer And Mental Health Advocate Wants To Connect People To Resources

Jai-Leta Colvard is the creator of Just Jai Wear, an athleisure brand that helps empower women while they get in shape. PHOTO PROVIDED BY JUST JAI WEAR.
Jai-Leta Colvard is the creator of Just Jai Wear, an athleisure brand that helps empower women while they get in shape. PHOTO PROVIDED BY JUST JAI WEAR.

 

Fashion Designer And Mental Health Advocate Wants To Connect People To Resources

By Tia Carol Jones

Jai-Leta Colvard was always the one people called to get information about social events. Now, people call her to get referrals for mental health resources. Colvard is a natural connector who has parlayed her love of fashion and fitness into a fashion line, Just Jai Wear, and her desire to see people get the mental health help they need into Space of Grace.

In 2020, Colvard experienced a series of losses which led her to a mental psychosis and suicidal ideations. She worked with five therapists, a trauma specialist, a nurse, a neurologist, a nutritionist and a personal trainer for 90 days. She said the team at Torn Counseling and Recovery Center in Acworth, Ga., helped save her life.

 She started Space of Grace to let other people know when they are going through something to give themselves some grace, but if it goes beyond a week to seek help. Space of Grace provides financial support to go through the 90-day program because she understands that finances might be a deterrent for some who might really need the help that can save their lives, so she wanted to remove that barrier for them. Space of Grace recently had a soft launch and an opening of a physical location.

Colvard said there are funds available through the Grace program for people to receive help. She said having the team she had, helped save her life because of the resources, they had empathy. Every day, there was a check-in and they knew what they needed to do to help her get to a better place. She also said, working from the inside out was also instrumental.

“Everyone played a part based on their skill set and I think the whole totality is needed to help someone get to the core of the problem,” she said.

Outside of the 90-day program, Colvard also wants to provide resources for those in need of mental health services. She is partnering with Torn. She will provide financial assistance to those in need. She acknowledges that people might need to travel to go where they can get help.

Colvard always had a flair for fashion and became a stylist and image consultant for a professional football player. She joined a health and wellness company and people loved what she wore to work out. So, she started to design her own athleisure line Just Jai Wear in 2017.

The line includes leggings, t-shirts, crop tops, jackets and hoodies that have tummy control. She also has a heated apparel line, which includes a heated vest that keeps the wearer warm for up to 10 hours. It took her over a year to find signature pieces and build an entire line. The goal of Just Jai Wear is to empower women. She wanted other women to be inspired and work out with her and look good no matter their shape or size. A portion of the sales from Just Jai Wear goes to a breast cancer outreach for breast cancer survivors.

For more information about Space of Grace, visit spaceofgrace365.org. For more information about Just Jai Wear, visit www.justjaiwear.com.

Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

Dr. Levy School District 152 1/2 Superintendent