JAMES HARRIS

 

James Harris the founder of Men to Heal . He is a Licensed MENtal HEALth Professional and holds a Master’s degree in Clinical MENtal HEALth Counseling.

 

At age five James lost his father, age eight, his mother began to have strokes and epilepsy and he and his siblings became Wards of the State. They were placed into the Virginia foster care system. As a ward of the State he was required to attend weekly counseling sessions. However, he found those sessions unengaging. Typically run by older white male therapists who sat on a couch. James felt that they could not relate to the emotional and cultural issues he faced. As a result, counseling wasn't a service he took seriously and so he wasn't able to benefit from it. This unfulfilling experience followed James into his adult life. James deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, upon his return, he again tried therapy and the experience was the same. To James, this was a reason why most veterans attend the group sessions as opposed to individual sessions. In 2018 James created Men To Heal, a movement to bring awareness to the stigma surrounding MENtal HEALth among boys/men and underserved populations.

 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & COMMUNITY

James is a Army veteran, serial entrepreneur and community advocate. He has a host of investments and the opening of The HEALing Hub in 2019, a wellness center that offers outpatient therapy, yoga, mindfulness, and financial resources to the community. James also brings in different speakers to discuss but not limited to, financial literacy, first-time home buying, restoration of rights, voter registration and LGBTQIA to name a few. The HEALing Hub also feed and cloth the less fortunate every third Saturday.

 

James created a board game called "Cheesy Dates" to increase communication with people and couples. The board game allow people to choose date ideas and strengthen communication in their relationships (intimate and platonic).