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CHICAGO (WLS) — In a groundbreaking effort to address mental health, men from Chicago’s South Side gathered to tackle the stigma surrounding these crucial conversations.
On Saturday morning, a local entrepreneur and business owner spearheaded a discussion at Josephine’s Southern Cooking, creating a platform for open dialogue.
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Gathered together, boys and men from the community seized the opportunity to engage in discussions about mental health, a significant issue that is too often ignored.
“Mental trauma and mental disparity know no age limits,” stated Victor Love, representing the Mentalhood Cultural Initiative. “Anyone can be affected, whether they are 3 years old or 83.”
Love, a respected figure in Chicago’s business world, opened the doors of Josephine’s Southern Cooking on East 79th Street, inviting the community in for these life-changing discussions.
It’s all part of Love’s “Mentalhood Cultural Initiative Tour,” where he works to foster these mental health talks in neighborhoods throughout Chicago to benefit mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
“We’ve been taught not to cry and to sic it up and to just pay the bills and to be the protector and provider,” Love said. “Our mental health matters just like everyone else’s.”
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“There is scientific data that talks about what trauma can do,” said Karriem Watson, UI Health Mile Square CEO. “We know there’s a trauma response whether it’s cortisol elevation or other hormones that are elevated.”
UI Health Mile Square works to offer trauma-informed primary care free of charge to anyone in need. Watson says he hopes this candid and open space to have these conversations sparks real change in communities across the city.
“One of the things we want people to do is to go get a check up from the neck up or the neck down,” Watson said. “Make sure you have a therapist, be sure you have someone you can talk to in a safe non judgmental way about what you’re going through… Other thing you can do is get a primary care provider. Someone who knows your family history, your social history.”
It was a morning of safe, meaningful and open conversations that could certainly change lives.
