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How Barbers are Encouraging Men to Open Up About Mental Health Issues

For many people, there’s a stigma surrounding mental health issues. They don’t feel comfortable, or like it’s even okay to discuss their feelings. Which is why Lorenzo Lewis founded The Confess Project, to take the shame out of talking about mental health. The national movement targets young men of color, and it’s picking up steam at barbershops across the South and Midwest. If there’s one place where men do open up, it’s the barbershop, Lewis says. So he is giving barbers the tools they need to facilitate honest, non-judgmental conversations with the guys in their chairs and, ultimately, access to professional help.