There is no doubt that young people in Britain are keen to overcome the stigma surrounding mental health conditions, but there’s still some way to go.
Now, an unexpected group of people known as the Lions Barber Collective are trying to tackle that.
The Collective are using their unique skills as hairdressers to encourage men to talk about their mental health.
We spoke to charity Ambassador Ken about their vital work:
“It’s a group of barbers who have come together for one cause; we decided together that male suicide is the right cause to raise money for- it’s the biggest killer of men under 45, so we decided to come together to raise money and awareness for the people that need it.
“We have 11 barber ambassadors- it’s our responsibility to promote what we do and get other barbers on board with the training and support our clients, and speak out about what’s happened in our lives.
“I lost my dad to suicide when I was 15 years old and I refused to talk about it. But when I saw the Lions, I felt that if I was going to speak out this might be the way to do it.
“It made me realise that people do want to hear my story, and I could help other people by talking about what happened to me.
“Before we announced that we were ambassadors, this was all very natural- we would spot signs of need in our clients and initiate a conversation and try and instil some trust between us.
“Through the resources and charities we’re involved with, we could then signpost them to the right help.”
So far, the Lions have had a great deal of success with people seeking them out to initiate a conversation about their mental health:
“Clients are now coming to us not for the haircut, but for the conversation because they know we’re involved with the Lions”.
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Standfirst
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HeadlineThe group tackling mental health one haircut at a time
Short HeadlineThe group tackling mental health with hair
StandfirstOne unique group are using their specialist skills to tackle the stigma surrounding male mental health.
There is no doubt that young people in Britain are keen to overcome the stigma surrounding mental health conditions, but there’s still some way to go.
Now, an unexpected group of people known as the Lions Barber Collective are trying to tackle that.
The Collective are using their unique skills as hairdressers to encourage men to talk about their mental health.
We spoke to charity Ambassador Ken about their vital work:
“It’s a group of barbers who have come together for one cause; we decided together that male suicide is the right cause to raise money for- it’s the biggest killer of men under 45, so we decided to come together to raise money and awareness for the people that need it.
“We have 11 barber ambassadors- it’s our responsibility to promote what we do and get other barbers on board with the training and support our clients, and speak out about what’s happened in our lives.
“I lost my dad to suicide when I was 15 years old and I refused to talk about it. But when I saw the Lions, I felt that if I was going to speak out this might be the way to do it.
“It made me realise that people do want to hear my story, and I could help other people by talking about what happened to me.
“Before we announced that we were ambassadors, this was all very natural- we would spot signs of need in our clients and initiate a conversation and try and instil some trust between us.
“Through the resources and charities we’re involved with, we could then signpost them to the right help.”
So far, the Lions have had a great deal of success with people seeking them out to initiate a conversation about their mental health:
“Clients are now coming to us not for the haircut, but for the conversation because they know we’re involved with the Lions”.
