Tempe, Chandler urge barbers to become mental health advocates

PHOENIX — The cities of Tempe and Chandler are participating in an initiative aimed at teaching hairdressers, barbers and more how to be mental health advocates for their clients.

It’s called Beyond the Shop and is part of a national program run by nonprofit The Confess Project of America.

Chandler and Tempe are the first cities in Arizona to take up the initiative.

How did mental health advocates program come to be?

Tempe Community Health and Human Services Director Tim Burch said the idea began through conversations with local barbers.

“It started with talking to two barbers in downtown Tempe about how they wanted to get involved and what their life experiences were, and then we grew that into a partnership,” Burch said.

That resulted in the creation of the “Barber Battle” series, which takes place at Tempe’s 2nd Sundays through June.

Burch said that link between local barbers and the city grew into support for the Beyond the Shop initiative.

“The barber community itself said, ‘Hey, we care about our clients, they’re with us for years, we see their kids, we’re seeing their grandkids now. We want to help and how can we do that in a different way?’” Burch said.

It builds on the idea many people already use haircutting appointments as de-facto therapy sessions due to “trusted relationships.”

The city also framed it as a grassroots, community-led solution that aims to not only boost mental health advocacy but also support local businesses.

Part of the initiative kicks off next month with free training in Tempe for barbers and hairstylists.

That training will include:

• How to create safe environments so people feel they can talk without fear or stigma.
• Learn about tools and resources that can help people thrive and how to refer those in-need to them.

It will be at the Tempe EnVision Center, located at 1310 E. Apache Blvd, on Feb. 3rd.

Spots are limited and the city urges those interested to reserve a spot, which can be done online.