“Tomorrow’s the day I’m killing myself,” he whispered to himself. His words felt hollow, like him.
The next day he found himself at the barbershop – a haircut seemed pointless, but whatever. Mid-cut, his barber asked, “Bro, what’s going on? You seem down.” And everything changed.
In 2016 The Confess Project (TCP) launched – a powerful organization fighting for Black men and boys’ mental health. TCP’s founders realized our men often feel shame about getting mental health support, so they brought services to a safe, familiar setting – the barbershop.
TCP trains barbers across America to be mental health advocates within their communities. Black barbers are seen as leaders and community builders – Harvard University even conducted a study showing how essential TCP’s work is.
The impact has been huge.
Suicide takes far too many Black lives every year, and the rate is rising dramatically among Black youth. From 2003 to 2017, 1,810 Black children took their own lives.
People struggle with mental health for many reasons – including racial trauma and violence, which seriously impact our mental health.
Remember that you’re loved, valued, and important. Between COVID-19, police brutality, and mass shootings, many of us have been struggling with our mental health.
Admitting to struggle isn’t weak – it’s courageous! Let’s all follow The Confess Project’s example and create safe spaces and support for everyone in our community to openly discuss mental health!