Mental Health expert to conduct workshops on stigma of mental health and men of color

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Lorenzo Lewis brings his powerful message of “I’ve been where you are, done what you’ve done, and you, too, can come out the other side a restored man, ready to build a better life for you and your family,” to a series of events in Fort Wayne on Saturday and Sunday, August 3 and 4.

The events, sponsored by a partnership between Purdue Fort Wayne’s Behavioral Health and Family Studies Institute, Parkview Behavioral Health, the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Stop Suicide of Northeast Indiana, and Fort Wayne Girlz Rock, will be facilitated by the Confess Project (TCP).

TCP was founded by Lewis and is an initiative that confronts the perceived shame of mental health problems by men of color. Through his presentations, he helps people confess to their issues and begin to build a better process of living.

Lewis, who was born in jail to an incarcerated mother, struggled with depression, anxiety, and anger throughout his youth. When he was 17, he nearly became another number in the system into which he was born; however, that’s when he realized there was another way and began his journey to wellness.

He will tell his story and counsel others at the following events:
Barbershop Talks: Minority Men and Mental Health, facilitated by The Confess Project
Saturday, August 3

• Former Purdue basketball standout Raphael Davis and Jessica Collins have donated 200 book bags that will be distributed filled with school supplies donated by Girlz Rock at 9:30 a.m.
• 10–11:30 a.m. at Precision Cuts Barber Shop, 7504 S. Anthony Blvd. by the old Kmart South Plaza.
• Noon–2 p.m. at 2K Tight Barber Shop, 3230 S. Clinton Street
• 3–8 p.m. at McMillen Park Summer Community Celebration

 Mental Fitness in Ministry, facilitated by the Confession Project
Sunday, August 4

• 10 a.m.–noon at Come as You Are Community Church, 7910 S. Anthony Blvd.

The events are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Alice Jordan-Miles, director of the Behavioral Health and Family Studies Institute at Purdue Fort Wayne, at 260-481-4184 or [email protected].

###