ASHEVILLE — What started as a grassroots movement to spark conversation about Black men and mental health awareness has now grown into a national effort targeting a group we see every day but may not immediately think of: barbers.
For the past three years, Confess Project of America has brought an initiative called “Beyond the Shop” to Asheville to highlight the need for mental health resources in a place where intimate bonds are traditionally forged over beards, new cuts and casual but meaningful small talk.
Jordan Lewis, CEO of The Confess Project, a nonprofit organization founded by her husband, Lorenzo Lewis, that works to improve mental health supports for Black men and boys, said the idea to offer classes for barbers was born out of the “intimate” nature of the trust and rapport they build with the people who cut their hair.
“There’s already a relationship of trust,” Jourdan Lewis said of her relationship with her hairdresser. “They see you at your best and they see you at your worst.”
Jordan Lewis noted that mental health awareness lags behind for men of all races. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America estimates that more than 6 million men suffer from depression each year in the U.S., but it often goes undiagnosed. This is likely due to the stigma surrounding depression and a lack of spaces to talk about it, he said.
The hope is that with resources in the hands of people they interact with frequently, a well-equipped barber might help “open the door to the other side.”
The message of finding community and safety through a haircut rings true for Asheville barbers like Darryl Cannadi, owner of Legends Barber & Beauty Salon on New Leicester Highway, who says there’s also an element of therapy involved in getting a haircut.
“I think sometimes a haircut is therapeutic,” Candy says. “Customers come in for free consultations and advice, they come in for all sorts of reasons, but they always leave with something.”
“That’s our job,” he continued.
Jordan-Lewis said the program has visited 63 cities and directly reached “about 5,000” barbers since its launch in 2016. The goal now is to indirectly reach 120 million Americans through the program.
They know the stories. In one example, a barber shop customer came in and said, “I’m going to cut your hair one last time.” When the barber asked what he meant, the boy replied, “I’m cutting my hair so that I won’t have to worry about my family at my funeral,” Jordan Lewis said.
The barber quickly spoke discreetly with the young man and provided him with a lifeline number: 988.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline was launched in 2022 following the passage of the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act in 2020, officially transitioning from its original 10-digit number to an easy-to-remember emergency number similar to 911. In mid-July, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the lifeline has answered more than 10 million texts, calls and chats, following a $1.5 billion investment from the Department of Health and Human Services.
“I’m proud that this young man is still going to the barbershop and getting his hair cut,” she said.
Serious topics with laughter and stories
The program was brought to Asheville after a barber in Johnson City, Tennessee, suggested it could be beneficial for Asheville and expand resources for local barbers. Jordan Lewis said he is working to open a new cosmetology school in the area this year.
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College’s Barber Academy is the only one accredited in Buncombe County and one of only a few in the area, Jordan Lewis said their goal is to raise enough money to open a new cosmetology school in Asheville. They expect to have the money by the end of the year, she said.
“We believe it will help a lot of young people realize that they don’t have to go to college for two to four years to get into a profession, they can get into a profession in 10 months,” Candy said of the prospect of a new barber school opening in Asheville.
Although “Beyond the Shop” is designed to expand resources for barbers, it is not limited to barbers, and “The Confess Project” encourages all mental health advocates and workers to participate.
On the third day of the program, four local social workers participated in the morning session to become certified as Community Mental Health Advocates. The morning was filled with jokes, laughter, and serious commitment to improving mental health care in Western North Carolina.
988 Lifeline is a big part of Jordan Lewis’ work, but she says an equally important part is her belief that they’re not therapists — they just have the resources to steer people in the right direction and find new ways to reach people in need, and not just men.
Operation Gateway, an Asheville-based nonprofit founded in 2023 to reduce recidivism rates by addressing the social determinants of health for people returning from prison, sponsored this year’s event, which featured local community health workers such as Angelique Scott, community health worker supervisor for the Asheville-based Institute for Preventive Health Care and Advocacy.
Tonya Cunningham, a minority behavioral health worker at Operation Gateway, said the most shocking thing about the training was learning how many men suffer “in silence,” and she hopes the trainees return to the workplace prepared to help them.
“Now we can be a voice for those people,” she said.
Need help?
If you or someone you know is in need of mental health resources or support, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by phone, text or chat or visit 988lifeline.org for free, confidential services available 24/7.
more: Tax hikes loom in Asheville, Buncombe; some homeowners could get $500 rebate; North Carolina has flat tax system
more: Asheville’s homeless commission likely to disband as work begins on new CoC
Will Hofmann is a growth and development reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Have a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Support this type of journalism with a Citizen Times subscription.es.
