Barbers, stylists bridge mental health gap for Black community

CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, ILL (WCIA)– Some people go to the barbershop or beauty salon to get their hair done and then leave. For the Black community, it can be a different process. “Look for them to be that guide and that guiding light in our life. You know what I’m saying?” said customer Jeremy Bailey Jr. Bailey Jr. gets his haircut at least twice a month at Beard Culture in Urbana. “We want them to make positive decisions, to be able to have positive advice for us when we come in to struggle,” said Bailey Jr. Everyday Hero: Man offers support and transport to Champaign Co. cancer patients Bailey added that struggle isn’t something that’s easily talked about. And not being able to express that can sometimes have an impact on your mental health, which the CDC says is one of the most common health conditions in the United States. Salon owner Laneshia Sargent-Leshoure says they’re taught to keep emotions hidden. “It was more so, I’m looking sad or down or depressed, but I’m not going to talk about it,” Sargent-Leshoure said. “So, it was hidden, very secret.” A study done by McLean hospital says 25 percent of Black people seek...