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Chicago man leads bi-monthly meetups to give men a safe space to heal
CHICAGO — While June marks Men's Mental Health Month, a Chicago businessman is leading a year-round effort to make it easier for men to express themselves and prioritize their emotional well-being.
On the fourth Saturday of every other month, Josephine's Southern Cooking on 79th Street opens its doors offering men and boys a safe space to let loose and heal from mental and emotional trauma.
'We gotta be brave enough to tell our story and to share to get the help and the healing,' Victor Love said.
Last November, Love started 'Mental Hood Culture,' an organization focused on Black males' mental health, but open to any man looking for an outlet and resources.
'It's been helpful because we find a lot of the guys that come here, they're seeking help, but they don't know where to go, they don't know who to talk to,' Love said.
Love wants to normalize men expressing themselves and as he says, getting 'a checkup from the neck up.'
During Saturday's conversation at Josephine's, a therapist was on hand to offer support.
'When they get in here, the conversations that are going on and the type of discussions, it just busts wide open. Everybody is sharing and it gets pretty emotional at times,' Love said.
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in 2023, more than 49,000 Americans died by suicide and men died by suicide close to four times more than women.
Love says something changed for him after the 2022 suicide death of Stephen 'Twitch' Boss, who gained fame dancing and DJ'ing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
'When he committed suicide, I don't know what hit me, but I know I couldn't stand by and see another male do that to himself on my watch,' he said.
Along with bringing men together as a group, Love says he's also preparing to launch a podcast called 'Let's Go for a Ride.'
'We're going to be talking to different authors and therapists and men going through a ride throughout the city of Chicago, talking about their mental journeys and how getting on the couch has really helped them,' Love said.
In addition to his faith, Love says talking to a therapist has been a game changer for him and now he's giving everything he's got to help transform the lives of other men.
'We're just trying to give brothers another alternative before making a permanent decision on a temporary situation,' Love said.
The next morning meeting at Josephine's is scheduled for the end of August.
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