EXCLUSIVE: Taraji P. Henson’s Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation and Kate Spade Launch Wellness Pods at HBCUs
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The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, founded by actress Taraji P. Henson, and Kate Spade New York have teamed to bring wellness pods to HBCU campuses, serving more than 25,000 Black women nationwide.
The foundation, which is named after Henson’s father who struggled with his mental health without any resources, was founded in 2018 to destigmatize the subject and provide services to Black communities.
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Starting with Alabama State University, the two organizations will roll out the She Care Wellness Pods, which are physical structures that will offer a slew of mental health resources, including virtual and in-person therapy sessions; psychoeducation sessions, and yoga, art, sound and dance therapy workshops, as well as a place for students to rest. While the foundation is launching the pods for female-identifying people, He Care and They Care Wellness Pods are set to roll out as part of the foundation’s Meeting You Where You Are initiative.
“You’ve got to take care of the women first because we drive change. Women are the change in most cases and so if you want to save the world, you save the women first,” Henson told WWD. “Black women, we suffer from a myriad of disparities and health, pay, social injustices. No one really hears us when we’re saying we don’t feel well or we’re not doing well mentally today, so we want to provide safe spaces for these young women.”
Research from the CDC showed that in 2021 almost 60 percent of female students experienced “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.”
Kate Spade, which is committing more than $5 million to destigmatizing mental health and providing resources to women this year, was a strategic partner for the foundation.
“Kate Spade has been an advocate for mental wellness for over a decade. It’s the pillar of their company and we connected on a fundamental human level because we both believe adamantly in mental wellness,” said Henson, who has been a member of Kate Spade New York’s Social Impact Council since it formed in January 2022.
“Our social impact mission is to empower women and girls across the globe by putting mental health at the heart of our approach. Women’s and girls’ mental health has long been underfunded, undervalued and under-acknowledged, and we are so proud of our partnership with Taraji, Tracie [Jade Jenkins, Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation executive director] and The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, an organization that shares our commitment to providing mental health resources to communities that need it the most,” said Liz Fraser, Kate Spade New York chief executive officer and brand president.
Since founding the foundation in 2018, Henson has recognized a shift in the conversation around mental health.
“Before we launched in 2018, no one was talking about it [mental health], certainly not in the Black community,” Henson said. “After BLH [Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation] launched, and I went to the floor of Congress and shared my struggles, I started seeing more people come forward, more Black and Brown people.”
Henson’s goal with the pods is to expand the foundation’s impact, focusing specifically on younger students.
“We’re always trying to eradicate the stigma and how you do that is you get people talking about it. If you have these pods on campus, there’s no way you can ignore that. You’re gonna see more people and more students want to take an interest in their mental wellness,” she said.
While Henson is launching the pods to foster conversations around mental health, she hopes it will ignite a deeper interest among students.
“Hopefully, we’ll see a rise in African American and Brown students wanting to start a career in the mental health field because we don’t have enough therapists, clinicians and practitioners,” she said. “When you talk about trying to get culturally competent therapists or finding a Black therapist or psychiatrist who can understand what you’re going through on a day to day basis, we don’t have it.”
The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation will continue to launch She Care Wellness Pods at HBCU campuses this spring.
