FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — One Fort Smith barber and stylist understands how important it is to connect with people that sit in her chair.
"Somebody can come sit in your chair and you don't really know what's going on with them. By listening and talking to them, you can probably help them," Ujima Brown, the owner of Ujima's Barber and Beauty Boutique, said.
In her 28 years as a barber, Brown says her clients often open up to her about the things they're going through.
"Most of our clients are like our family. Most people have come to us for years. They know a lot about me and I know a lot about them," Brown said. "So most people are comfortable with talking about what's going on with them, and we just try to listen."
Brown participated in a nationwide initiative called the The Confess Project of America to better support her clients. The national mental health awareness movement "fosters mental health advocacy in the African American Barber and Beauty Industry," according to the website.
Lorenzo Lewis, the founder of the organization, says he recognized a need within the Black community when he was facing a difficult time in his life.
"Born in jail to an incarcerated mother and being incarcerated at the age of 17 myself, I dealt with mental health challenges and went through depression," Lewis said. "But I also grew up in a community of people who went through similar challenges like substance abuse and incarceration, and there was just not a lot of resources to be offered as a young person or people that had the proper knowledge and tools."
Through the hard times, Lewis also grew up in his aunt's beauty salon. Watching her interact with the community sparked the idea of what is now The Confess Project.
"I reimagined how mental health can be a revolution by putting it in the hands of everyday people that can make a difference," he said.
What started in Little Rock in 2016, is now in 54 cities across the nation. The program not only trains barbers and stylists, but it also trains front line workers.
"If a barber has that capability, then what could a teacher, a law enforcement official, a fireman ... someone who works in a hospital, if they can have that same ability, then we can help to mobilize this training at a very high level," Lewis said.
That training happened right here in Fayetteville in partnership with the University of Arkansas Black Graduates association. Ph.D. candidate Terrius Bruce is studying food insecurity in low-income communities. He says trainings like today will help him with his work.
"There's a need to be able to relate to people to be able to comfort them through challenges they may face, but also be able to have the right equipment to be able to guide them to the next step of their life to whatever they need," Bruce said.
The next city The Confess Project will be visiting is Savannah, Georgia.
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