Anissa Keyes: Supporting black businesses and mental health

Anissa Keys ” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/spokesman-recorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Annisa-Keys.32.jpg?fit=336%2C227&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/spokesman-recorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Annisa-Keys.32.jpg?fit=771%2C521&ssl=1″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/spokesman-recorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Annisa-Keys.32.jpg?resize=771%2C521&ssl=1″ alt class=”wp-image-1142984″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/spokesman-recorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Annisa-Keys.32.jpg?resize=771%2C521&ssl=1 771w, https://i0.wp.com/spokesman-recorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Annisa-Keys.32.jpg?resize=336%2C227&ssl=1 336w, https://i0.wp.com/spokesman-recorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Annisa-Keys.32.jpg?resize=768%2C519&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/spokesman-recorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Annisa-Keys.32.jpg?resize=750%2C507&ssl=1 750w, https://i0.wp.com/spokesman-recorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Annisa-Keys.32.jpg?w=1030&ssl=1 1030w” sizes=”(max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px” data-recalc-dims=”1″>Courtesy photo Anissa Keys In the Black community, those seeking mental health services face barriers of stigma, access, and a lack of diversity among providers. Anissa Keyes has spent over a decade breaking down those barriers, all while supporting Black businesses. Born and raised in North Minneapolis, Keyes obtained a degree in social work from the University of Minnesota. She went into private practice in 2012. “I really had a heart for serving other people,” she says, stemming from a father with a lifelong struggle with addiction. “I just wanted to support those that were not probably going to make it into traditional services.”  She began by visiting places that served the homeless and chemically dependent, asking to see their clients. “That just really caught fire,” she says. “There were a lot of folks that were like, ‘Absolutely, come and help these clients.’”  Traditional mental health services are held in office spaces with few clinicians and therapists of color. “You’re not going to find Black or brown bodies, disenfranchised communities or ostracized communities coming into spaces like that,”...