Written by Tanya Terry, with photos by Tanya Terry
To kickoff Men’s Mental Health Month in June, Genesee Health System (GHS) hosted Pillars of Hope: Shop Talk Men’s Mental Health on Monday, June 1, at Unlimited Potential Barber & Beauty Salon.
Dante Jennings, manager of co-occurring service integration at Genesee Health System, helped organize the men’s mental health event, which was held in a barber shop setting. Jennings explained that his inspiration came from childhood experiences at barbershops, where people could openly express themselves and discuss personal matters.
Jennings emphasized that barbershops provide a unique space for mental health conversations, as barbers often can connect with people in ways that sometimes differ from as in traditional therapy.
“Barbershop talk, beauty salon talk allows people to get things that’s on their chest,” said Jennings. “We talk to our pastor about our spiritual health, and we talk to our doctors about our physical health. But, we don’t talk about our mental health enough.
“So the barber a lot of times may not necessarily be a licensed therapist to talk to about what we’re going through, but sometimes that barber is able to get through to you sometimes even better than a therapist because they have life experience as well. And life experience can matter.”
Dexter Clarke of Genesee Health System, Pastor Janard Lakes of Unlimited Potential Barber & Beauty Salon, Lashonda Griffin of Gift of Life Michigan, Shebra Ward of the City of Flint and Dwayne Parker of Men’s Health First all spoke while sitting with attendees in an informal setting.
The event featured discussions on stress management techniques including exercise, music, talking to pastors and taking car rides.
A key highlight was a participant sharing how the lack of someone to talk to led to a suicide attempt, and how an event like this could have prevented it.
Jennings stressed that preventative care through open dialogue is crucial, as people often internalize trauma and anger, which grows when not addressed.
“Typically what we learned, especially as a kid, is what happened in this house stays in this house. But that’s not the truth. What happens in this house typically grows in this house. So, if you’re sitting on a lot of anger, it’s just growing and festering if you don’t talk about it.”
Jennings said that African American men are having a higher rate of suicide in the community because of stigma.
At the event, Jennings stated: “We’re not talking about our mental health. We’re not talking about the things that we’re going through. So, today we were able to start the process for a lot of men to do that.”
The event included free food from Smoke-N-Gates BBQ and free haircuts.
“Being able to eat, being able to talk, brought the people here. Getting a haircut for, especially for African Americans, is very important because once again, it’s a stress reliever. It’s one way that we can actually get into a chair, get out, look nice and actually talk about what is bothering us. That’s the most important piece that we want to we want to remember here.”
Aaron Neeley, an attendee, praised the event for creating a welcoming environment where people from different backgrounds could share experiences without judgment. He liked that speakers emphasized that isolation is harmful. Neeley said for him seeking support, even from unexpected sources, has been vital.
“I enjoyed the event – just fact that young children and people who just needed it, like older gentlemen who just needed a haircut, can all feel good about themselves,” Neeley said. “Things like this feel genuine and are inviting to everybody, regardless of what situation they are in. I enjoyed the fact that we were able to allow everybody to open up and share their stories, regardless of what they look like, where they came from or what amount of money that they had.
“Free events like this are welcoming to the public because nobody has to feel like they’re separate from someone else because they can’t afford a haircut, or they can’t afford food. We really appreciate the food being provided and appreciated the free haircuts, and just the overall chance to be able to have meaningful conversation with people that we’ve learn from.”
Neeley shared that addressing problems one at a time and accepting help as it comes, rather than waiting for perfect solutions, is important and has helped him.
Genesee Health System aims to break barriers by going into the community as a safe space and providing resources and mobile crisis support.
As a public mental health provider, GHS plans to continue hosting similar events within the Pillars of Hope series in different community settings to promote mental health awareness and provide resources.
