LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) — What would a place be if it offered haircuts, mentoring and counseling? And, where kids and teens didn't have to go to it, but instead, it went to them?
Imagination is not necessary, not anymore. MIND, or Mentoring in New Dimensions, is now in its third week in Lincoln. It's the latest endeavor from Visionary Youth.
"This idea was really just two friends. One guy's a barber. The other guy's a psychologist," Lawrence Chatters, Ph.D. explained. They are a psychologist and president of Visionary Youth.
"We always give each other a hard time about our jobs. (KB) always used to tell me, 'Man, I'm a psychologist because I'm a barber.' And I'm like, 'No, I went to school to do it. And you don't have a psychology degree,'" Chatters laughed. "So, we finally just settled on this idea of maybe we should be able to do both of our professions in one space and that's how the Mentoring in New Dimensions vehicle came about."
KB Mensah, founder and executive director, filled in the rest.
"We wanted to bring it to organizations in Nebraska, and we really wanted to help the youth just grow, figure out problems (and) solutions," said Mensah.
Partners include the Malone Community Center. Parents enroll their kids in MIND, as an extension of after-school programming.
Chatters described the benefits they're seeing early on.
"(The kids) get that connection with an adult. They get to feel better about themselves through their image. And then they also get some mental health support, some counseling, all in the same space," he said.
Chatters developed the curriculum used to train barbers in areas including trauma and suicide prevention. Four barbers spend 45 minutes with four kids at a time. Then, a licensed mental health professional spends 45 minutes with the group.
Chatters hopes this approach helps address the stigma around mental health. He believes the MIND mobile barbershop is totally unique.
"I do know of other barbershops, but I don't know of other mobile barbershops that also provide mentoring and counseling by a professional in the same space," said Chatters.
They're looking for additional experienced barbers and licensed therapists. Visionary Youth also organizes other programs where volunteers and donations are needed.
To connect, visit visionaryouth.org.
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