According to Mental Health America, more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness, and most of them (about 55%) go untreated.
To help people respond where they are, national nonprofits are equipping barbers and cosmetologists with peer support tools to help clients in need. The Confess Project of America is the first barber mental health advocacy program in the United States.
More than 4,000 barbers and beauty professionals across the U.S. are being trained as mental health advocates using a curriculum backed by Harvard University, and entrepreneur Lorenzo Ruiz, founder of the Confess Project, said the program, which launched in 2016, is already having an impact.
“This is saving lives in that we have people saying they’re glad they found a barber, someone who will listen. This is something that a lot of barbers are already saying and it’s something they’re already doing. They’re counselors, they’re great listeners,” Lewis said. “They’ve helped people put away their guns and not commit crimes. They’ve helped people not die by suicide. So this is a comment that we’re hearing that this is something they’re already doing. Now they just have the actual curriculum and the tools and the system in place to be able to address it in a very appropriate way.”
These barbers and hairdressers are taught peer support tools such as active listening, acknowledgement, positive communication and stigma reduction, as well as procedures for referring clients to counselors when appropriate.
In less than 10 years, the American Confession Project has reached more than 4 million people across 32 states, and the organization now aims to reach 120 million people worldwide through mental health awareness, support, and advocacy training.
Next, Lewis says she wants to add manicurists to the list of frontline workers who serve as mental health advocates.
For more information, visit theconfessprojectofamerica.org.
