![cornerstone barber shop cornerstone barber shop](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/197340931_Pop-s-Barber-and-Beauty-Outside_t1000.jpg)
Barbers listened and joined in while they cut hair, and clients often jumped in, too. In an initiative called “Beyond the Shop,” Lewis visited barbershops across the South and Midwest to spread his campaign. That way they can counsel them and direct them to other resources as needed, such as therapy, a pastor or suicide prevention services. They’re taught to look for subtle changes in personality, such as withdrawal, lack of affect or changes in grooming that might signal clients are depressed, anxious or isolated. Interested barbers receive training around four pillars: active listening, validation, stigma reduction, and communication. The goal of The Confess Project is not to train barbers to be therapists, he explains, but rather to become mental health advocates, spreading awareness and destigmatizing mental illness.Įver been told to “man up” when all you wanted to do is cry? Wished there was someone to talk to who understood where you were coming from? Had a moment when all the -isms in life were too much to bear? With some seed funding, Lewis embarked on the journey to begin training barbers to become mental health gatekeepers. “The Black barbershop is where we go to be seen, heard and celebrated,” he says. “We want to give ordinary people a voice, letting them know their stories hold power and sharing them can make a difference.” “We wanted to build a loving community around them in which men could talk about their pain without being told to ‘man up,” he says. Traditionally, African American men have been loath to seek therapy for fear of appearing weak, but they are used to opening up to their barber, Lewis says. In 2016 he founded The Confess Project, a nonprofit based in Little Rock that trains barbers to be frontline counselors for clients who are depressed, traumatized or even considering suicide. “So we decided to try talking at barbershops,” a “safe, non-judgmental space” where men could let down their guard and talk about anything. “That didn’t work at all: Men just didn’t come,” Lewis said. Lewis had already tried in vain to hold town hall meetings to bring Black men and youth together to talk about mental health. The ideal setting for that therapy, he decided, was the barbershop.
![cornerstone barber shop cornerstone barber shop](https://cornerstonebarbers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/Untitled-design-2-owpjed6ocam333wuqlca25f3qq3aboyjf93mwotm7s.png)
Lewis came up with a novel idea: Since African American boys and men had little access to therapy, why not bring therapy to them? Many were African American males who suffered from trauma, depression and other mental ills linked to their rough childhoods, but almost none of them had received any treatment before their encounter with the law. The barbershop would surface again in his late 20s, when Lewis worked as a case worker with troubled teens at an Arkansas juvenile detention center. It was the cornerstone of the Black male community, a combination of beloved social club, lounge and salon. “I grew up in my aunt’s barbershop, and it was a safe, comforting place,” he recalls. Photo courtesy of The Confess ProjectĪs a child, Lorenzo Lewis spent endless hours in a barbershop owned by his aunt, reveling in the banter, laughter and murmured conversations between barbers and their customers.
![cornerstone barber shop cornerstone barber shop](https://wixmp-fe53c9ff592a4da924211f23.wixmp.com/logo-internal/6a9d45a2-4b32-4a95-8228-c0c77d67b748/website/website.png)
The program hopes to be able to provide necessary school items during the school year as well as a scholarship to college.īy helping each student to create a four year plan for after high school and identifying possible career paths through the Career Path exam, we believe we can keep each student focused on positivity and achieving their goals.Lorenzo Lewis (center) and his team at The Confess Project, pre-pandemic. The overall goal of the Advantage Program is to expose the children to different life opportunities as well as multiple career paths.
Cornerstone barber shop professional#
Once a month the Advantage Program will expose participating students to an event or venue outside of York County such as, HBCU’s, NASA, music concerts, college sporting events, the black and wax museum, and professional sporting events. During these sessions the curriculum for this program will include entrepreneurship, financial literacy, civil engagement, culinary arts, athletics, and business principles. The mentors and mentees will meet weekly on Saturday for a two-hour time period. The Advantage Program is a youth mentorship program geared to expose middle and high school aged children to life’s opportunities. Winner announced at Midnight on Give Day (May 6th)
![cornerstone barber shop cornerstone barber shop](https://www.dailypress.com/resizer/laaDkWj_0gwOJFrxRqHOmU_NyW8=/1400x0/top/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com/public/KVTQF7FE75EOHPZZEQ5EXNC2PA.jpg)
$25 Gift basket from The Sweetest Thing (Penn Market) $20 Gift card to Skillet2Plate Soul Bistro $100 Gift card to Target courtesy of Business Information Group (BIG) (Buy 2 qty, get 20 entries, etc.) One winner wins them all!Ħ months of haircuts with Jason Cornerstone ($150) Gift card raffle! Buy this raffle ticket for $10, get 10x entries into our raffle.