Young black men will receive mental health support when they visit the hairdresser in a new programme from Islington Council and the NHS.
The scheme is part of a £1.6 million programme backed by NHS Central London Integrated Care Board’s Inequalities Fund and the Violence Reduction Unit.
The three-year programme, called “Young Black Men and Mental Health”, has four strands, including the training of Islington secondary schools to support young Black boys through specialist sessions, as well as a cultural competency programme for partners such as the police and GPs.
Holloway councillor Jason Jackson, who has been heavily involved in programme, said: “Places like the barber shop for the majority of black boys and black men overall are constant safe spaces that have always existed in the system.”
Mr Jackson explained that barbers are well-suited to help young black men as they build relationships with their clients. He said: “Speaking from experience I would barely change my barber. It could sometimes be that you have the same barber cutting your hair since you were a child.”
“It was about using a unique space that does exist to then provide support for young black boys,” he added.
The programme will train five barbers in shops around Islington to spot signs that an individual may need help and point them in the direction of further support.
Mr Jackson said the programme had received a lot of interest from barbers wanting to be involved, including from other boroughs.
Research from Islington Council shows Black men in Britain are 17 times more likely to be diagnosed with a serious mental illness. According to data from mental health charity Mind, they are also less likely to receive psychological therapies and four times more likely to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
“A lot of our young black boys are overrepresented or have been sectioned into the mental health system – I personally think we can do more to prevent that. I also personally want a society where they feel like they’re being listened to,” said Jackson.
