"Carter, founder of Mental Health Is Real Wealth, leads a bi-monthly mental health group in Los Angeles' Leimert Park neighborhood, and on a recent Thursday, 15 Black men gathered inside a conference room without pressure and without women. As the men walked in, they dapped each other up and leaned in for an embrace."
"Before they started their session, Carter, 37, told them of his best friend who died by suicide following a schizophrenic depression diagnosis. It's a story he's told multiple times. It happened literally 10 years ago, and it's still tough, Carter said, who remembers his friend as funny, fly and intelligent. But he often hid his diagnosis and would say he was OK."
Desmond Carter leads a bi-monthly mental health group in Los Angeles' Leimert Park where 15 Black men gather in a pressure-free, men-only space to practice vulnerability and mutual support. Participants range from 19 to men more than twice that age and display cultural markers such as LA apparel and diverse hairstyles. Carter launched the group after his best friend died by suicide following a schizophrenic depression diagnosis and after seeing peers hide pain behind appearances. Suicide rates among Black boys and men have increased 25.3%, and the CDC lists suicide as the third leading cause of death for Black male adolescents and young adults.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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