Launching April 14, 2023
The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation
Celebrating 5 years of services, BLHF will continue to make bold and revolutionary change. As the pioneering Black mental health advocacy group in the U.S., The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, founded by Academy Award and Emmy-nominated actress and advocate Taraji P. Henson, provides access to localized and culturally competent therapy resources through a network of clinicians and service providers, counselors, and thought leaders.
Through the support of donors and partnerships, BLHF offers services including free mental wellness support for African Americans, mental health scholarships to increase the pipeline of African American clinicians and programs to reduce the recidivism rate, and African American cultural competency training.
New for 2023, BLHF will launch BLHF Wellness Pods, which fall under the umbrella initiative, ‘Meeting You Where You Are’. BLHF Wellness Pods will launch with our SHECare Wellness Pods, followed by HECare and THEYCare Wellness Pods. This empowering concept provides hassle-free access to mental wellness resources in traditional and non-traditional spaces where African Americans convene.
MEETING YOU WHERE YOU ARE
BLHF's ‘Meeting You Where You Are’ initiative was created to bring mental health and self-regulatory resources to trusted, safe spaces in the Black community. These familiar spaces can encourage connection, support, and vulnerability.
Mental wellness services will be offered in repurposed container structures intentionally designed to support self-empowerment and well-being. From the color palette to container gardens filled with lavender and eucalyptus participants will be immersed in joy.
BHLF intends to develop these structures and programming in support of building a gender-inclusive community with
SHECare, HECare, and THEYCare Wellness Pods.
Programming includes:
- Free mental health virtual and in-person therapy sessions for women students experiencing an exacerbation of stress, anxiety, and depression.
- Hangout spaces will provide psychoeducation sessions that allow students to connect with peers and mental wellness professionals to address students' specific challenges.
- Self-regulatory practices including yoga, meditation, art, sound and dance therapy - all provided by certified practitioners.
- Workshops and seminars on a variety of student-requested topics.
- Rest pods for silence and respite, to reset from daily stressors.
- Container Garden for plant therapy to keep the mind engaged.
Our first SERIES of installments will launch on HBCU campuses across the country from Spring 2023 - 2024.
BLHF Wellness Pods
Together we can eradicate the stigma around mental health in the Black community.