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Across the energetic commune of the locality, known for its entrepreneurial spirit and lively nightlife, a subtle change is happening. In this place, stylists are embracing functions as psychological well-being counselors, offering a listening ear in addition to grooming.

An Innovator in Local Assistance

This professional, a seasoned hairdresser, has spent a long career not just working on hair but furthermore giving psychological support to her customers. A school dropout, she earlier worked as a bank cashier before finding her calling in styling.

“Stay positive,” Tano counseled a worried young person fearing failing exams. “Even if you fail, how can you think that everything is lost in life?”

Mental Health in the Continent: A Stigma Issue

As reported by the WHO, more than a huge number people in this region experience mental health problems. However, counseling is limited, with only a handful of professionals present per 100,000 people.

Throughout local neighborhoods, hairdressing salons function as comfort zones, especially in areas with minimal availability of psychological support.

Healing Through Hair: A Program Making a Difference

The Bluemind Foundation, operating in one country, another nation, and a third location, initiated the Healing Through Hair initiative. As stated by the organization's leader, Marie-Alix de Putter, more than hundreds of stylists have been trained during the previous couple of years to function as initial support providers, reaching more than 100,000 women.

By 2030, the aim is to educate in excess of a thousand stylists across various regions.

‘The Faith Is Already Present’

The program began by a personal tragedy. In 2012, the founder became a widow when visiting her home country Cameroon. The event remains unsolved.

“I endured that difficult time in grief alongside my stylist,” she recalled. “She was the individual I confided in completely as one is merely in the presence of people and you don’t know the perpetrator's identity.”

Driven by her story, the foundation completed a 2021 study across several Francophone countries. The results revealed that most participants revealed confiding in their stylists, and in excess of the vast majority of professionals reported that customers had asked for advice.

Coaching and Backing

The initiative includes a no-cost, in-depth three-day course with specialists and counselors who teach participants about active listening, gender-based violence, indicators of emotional distress, and fundamental psychological concepts. Once finished, they are evaluated before being awarded a diploma.

“The training went very well … I earned my certificate and this,” commented Thérèse Gueu, pointing to a mental health book in her studio in a local neighborhood.

Over a period of months, participants receive follow-up help through community circles and access to a mental health service network. In cases where a client discloses serious issues, beauticians can direct them to mental health experts, or for instances of domestic violence, to the police.

Difficulties and Achievements

In the beginning, financial support for the initiative was primarily from personal funds, but now, private donors and institutions like an international fund are helping. Still, funding is scarce for the amount of work facing the organization's limited staff of employees and about 100 volunteers.

Regardless of these challenges, there are tales of happiness and improvement. Locally, a participant employed an individual who had been in a mental health facility, offering social rehabilitation.

“Often when you’ve been sick and you were in the hospital, people say you’re crazy,” explained she. “But if you have a job and a person who agrees to support you, you get out of the misconception.”

One more stylist left her residence because she was a survivor of abuse, but now aids individuals. In some communities, stylists report that several gentlemen have begun to approach for advice.

A Sense of Fulfillment

Among the stylists, exists a general sense of fulfillment over their rise as a source of emotional support in their communities.

“When people come to share their issues to me, it's an honor for me too as I understand that I provide support for another person,” shared Gueu. “I tell myself that each person needs a confidant.”

“For numerous hairdressers, it’s their first validation as a influencer in their neighborhood and a guardian,” noted de Putter. “These women express to us: ‘Previously I was just doing hair, today I do healing.’”