Bennett Colleges Unveils SheCare Wellness Pods in Collaboration with Taraji P. Henson’s Boris L. Henson Foundation and kate spade New York
Greensboro, N.C – After months of careful planning and collaboration with Taraji P. Henson’s Boris L. Henson Foundation (BLHF) and the luxury brand kate spade New York, Bennett College officially opened the SheCare Wellness Pods on campus on Tuesday, October 22, 2024.
A project of BLHF in partnership with the luxury handbag maker, the structures provide dedicated space for mental-health counseling and other wellness-support programming at Bennett and other historically Black colleges. The goal: to address the critical need for mental-health care among young Black people.
From Protest to Pods
The SheCare project was initiated at Bennett on the heels of a protest led by students in the spring of 2023. A group of campus leaders staged a sit-in outside the president’s office after the departure of the college’s sole mental health provider. Students made a list of demands for better mental-health support, including the immediate hire of an on-campus counselor. The college arranged for 24/7 online services and telehealth support, then set about to find qualified counseling staff.
“Right as the protest was ending, there was the announcement by Taraji P. Henson about the SheCare wellness pods,” says Suzanne Elise Walsh, JD, Bennett’s president. The Henson Foundation announced that they would design space for culturally relevant therapy as well as other evidence-based wellness modalities for women on HBCU campuses.
As one of only two Black women’s colleges in the country, Walsh says, “We knew we had to be a site for those pods.” This effort is part of the college’s intentional and multi-layered commitment to health that they call #WellBelle.
Over the past year, the college’s wellness team–led by the new Director of Counseling Services Ryanne Peterson—worked with the representatives from the Boris L. Henson Foundation and kate spade New York to manage the logistics of building and designing the space, and identifying wellness providers who would be responsible for providing additional counseling services and other health-affirming programming including yoga, art therapy, meditation and other evidence-based practices.
“We will be opening this pod not only to the students who are at Bennett College, but this will be the first pod to also serve the local community,” says Peterson. The space is available to students at other colleges in the city as well as women’s organizations and other community entities that are focused on wellness.
Bringing Light
Founded in 2018, the Boris L. Henson Foundation is the brainchild and heartchild of the award-winning actor Taraji P. Henson, who created the foundation to honor her father who struggled with trauma for many years.
“He went to Vietnam, he came back and I grew up watching him struggle. It was unfair for him and so many other veterans, to go and be back left twisting in the wind with so many issues,” she has said in an interview. “I had to do something. Bring some light to it.”
The Boris L. Henson Foundation’s programs and campaigns promote mental wellness, combat stigma and provide mental health resources.
Under the leadership of Executive Director Tracie Jade Jenkins, BLHF found an ideal partner in kate spade New York. The company pivoted its social impact mission to include a focus on mental health after founder Kate Brosnahan Spade took her own life in 2018. After donating $1 million to mental health causes in the first year and launching efforts to support mental wellbeing within the company, the company has continued to support mental wellness efforts for women. Taraji Henson became a member of kate spade New York’s Social Impact Council when it formed in January 2022.
Crisis on College Campuses
A recent U.S. News/Generation Lab survey found that 70 percent of college students said they have struggled with mental health. But only about a third of them accessed mental health resources, citing stigma, cost, negative past experiences and skepticism among the reasons they don’t seek out care.
“This issue continues to go heavily stigmatized and radically underfunded, and we believe that should change,” says Taryn Bird, Executive Director of Social Impact for kate spade New York, who wore a Bennett College t-shirt during the ribbon cutting ceremony. “It is so critically important that women, early in their lives, are learning how to regulate because life is going to throw you a lot of challenges…. So these are absolutely critical life skills.”
Lack of mental health support is more acute among young people in marginalized groups. People of color, LGBTQ students, people with special needs or neurodivergencies—as well as those who check more than one of these boxes—may have a particular need for mental health care. These same populations may have more trouble finding culturally appropriate care. The SheCare project takes a forward-thinking approach to address this challenge.
An Oasis at an Oasis
Nestled between Bennett’s raised-bed garden and the historic library, the wellness area includes two container structures and an adjoining deck. The buildings contain comfortably furnished “away” rooms for counseling, meditation, retreat or rest. Another space, large enough for small groups to gather, is outfitted with yoga mats and equipment for movement classes. A large deck connects the buildings and creates space for outdoor classes as well as a place for students to be outside in nature.
Bennett is the third historically Black college to house SheCare Wellness Pods; Alabama State University and Hampton University received their pods last year. The programming for Bennett’s center will be different, however, in that the pods will not only be available to Bennett students and staff, but will be open to the broader community as well.
In addition to State Senator Gladys Ashe Robinson, PhD ‘71, Bennett Board of Trustee member City Councilwoman Dr. Goldie Wells, and Trey Davis, Greensboro’s new City Manager, Tuesday’s ribbon cutting welcomed many people from the region, particularly Black women, who are providers of counseling, yoga, meditation, fitness, sound baths, equine therapy, art therapy and many other healing services.
College can be stressful for any student, but the issue has become so acute that there is an annual conference dedicated specifically to mental health on college campuses. Social psychologist Santiba Campbell, PhD, Bennett’s Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs, attended one of the conferences. “It was clear that this was not just an issue for a small campus like ours. Colleges like Notre Dame and UCLA were also grappling with the issue,” she says. “They were doing all kinds of creative things to address student needs–from creating meditation rooms to deploying mental-health apps that allowed the college to track students in crisis.”
“We all have a symphony within us,” said Tracie Jade. “And as we continue to build spaces like these together, we continue to build on that symphony. [From] this beautiful music that we’ll all make … a lot of healing is going to happen, and we’re grateful to be a part of that.”
#
Full event photos available soon. Rewatch the event at www.Bennett.edu/live.
Suzanne Elise Walsh, JD, President of Bennett College
“Bennett College is delighted to partner with BLHF and kate spade New York on their vital Wellness Initiative. The installation of these innovative SheCares Wellness Pods aligns with our strategic priority to focus on providing an environment where Black women can prioritize mental health and wellbeing. Our journey has taken us from protest to pods: what began in April 2023, with student voices calling for improved mental health resources has emerged as a holistic ecosystem, with 24/7 counseling, rejuvenating spaces, and now SheCares Wellness Pods. The Pods will facilitate the next level of our commitment to mental health and wellbeing for Black women and women of color. They will be a haven for Black women to recharge, express themselves, and just be. This isn’t just a pod, it’s a place to find peace, heal, and thrive – basically, a source of campus- and community-wide joy and inspiration.”
BLHF Founder, Taraji P. Henson
“When we first had the idea to create the Boris L. Henson Foundation SheCare Wellness Pods, I knew we had to start with women, and specifically women on HBCU campuses. I can remember through my own experiences with stress and anxiety, not having the adequate support to deal with my issues or the education to name what I was experiencing. Our shared vision and partnership with kate spade new york has been vital in promoting conversations and offering support to students to take care of their mental health, starting with our successful launch of SheCare Wellness pods at Alabama State University and second opening at Hampton University. We are proud to open our third installment at Bennett College this Fall.”
“Our overall mission has always been to eradicate the stigma around mental illness in the black and brown communities. We are most impacted with mental illness and we just don’t talk about it.” –Taraji P. Henson.
“My dad fought in the Vietnam War for our country, returned broken, and received little to no physical and emotional support,” Henson has said. “I named the organization after my father because of his complete and unconditional love for me; his unabashed, unashamed ability to tell the truth, even if it hurt; and his strength to push through his own battles with mental health issues.”
“This is a direct message to the people and direct healing and resources and tools to help a community that’s been hurting for some time now.” Taraji P. Henson.
BLHF Executive Director, Tracie Jade
“Black women, from a very young age, are taught to be strong and dismiss their own suffering, tending to the needs of family and community often at the expense of their own well-being. The SheCare Wellness pods seek to change this narrative.”
Taryn Bird, Executive Director of Social Impact at kate spade new york
“We’re thrilled to build upon our partnership with the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation and Taraji P. Henson as we continue to jointly champion women’s mental health and increasing access to mental health services on campus that are culturally competent and community centric. To ensure we are meeting the needs of young women where they are, we are intentional about engaging with a diverse range of academic institutions, reaching all sizes of student body populations. Cultivating good mental health is foundational to women and girls accessing authentic voice, choice and power yet it remains heavily stigmatized and underfunded. At kate spade new york we are committed to raising continued awareness, increasing accessing to mental health services for young women on HBCU campuses and cultivating joy through our partnership with BLHF.”
Taryn Bird, Executive Director of Social Impact at kate spade New York
“We’re thrilled to build upon our partnership with the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation and Taraji P. Henson as we continue to jointly champion women’s mental health and increasing access to mental health services on campus that are culturally competent and community centric. To ensure we are meeting the needs of young women where they are, we are intentional about engaging with a diverse range of academic institutions, reaching all sizes of student body populations. Cultivating good mental health is foundational to women and girls accessing authentic voice, choice and power yet it remains heavily stigmatized and underfunded. At kate spade New York we are committed to raising continued awareness, increasing access to mental health services for young women on HBCU campuses and cultivating joy through our partnership with BLHF.”
