00:00Well, yes, I have a nonprofit called the Mental Wealth Alliance, and, you know, our goal
00:04was to get, you know, 10 million black and brown people free therapy over the last five years. And
00:11I mean, you know, we want to also increase the number of mental health professionals that are
00:15also, you know, black and brown in that space. Like, we wanted to at least reflect the population
00:20of black people in America. I think we make up like 13% of the population, you know, when it
00:24comes to mental health professionals, I think we make up like three to four percent. So we want to
00:28just to increase that because, you know, you need culturally competent psychiatrists and
00:32therapists and just people in that space. And the reason I wanted to start the Mental
00:36Wealth Expo is because, you know, I've written a book about my issues with anxiety and depression.
00:41It's called Shook on Anxiety, Playing Tricks on Me. And, you know, I have conversations
00:45about it on the radio. But when I'm out and about, you know, just walking around, people
00:50come up to me and they say, hey, you know, my husband started going to therapy because
00:53of you, or my brother started going to therapy because of you, or I started going to therapy
00:57because of you. But one thing you always hear is that people don't necessarily have
01:02the means to connect to people who have those resources. Like, let's be for real, therapy
01:10and stuff is expensive. So, you know, why not create an event like the Mental Wealth Expo
01:16where people can come. It's a free event open to all ages where people can come and hear,
01:21you know, some of the best mental health professionals in the country and, you know, hopefully leave with
01:25some, you know, access to pathways to healing. And so we do it every World Mental Health Day,
01:31which is coming up, you know, this Saturday. I used to do it right here in Times Square,
01:35but, you know, Times Square is for, like, tourists, right?
01:38It's a little busy.
01:40Yeah. And don't get me wrong, thousands of people would come, but I wanted to do it in
01:43communities that actually need it. So last year, we did it in Newark, New Jersey at the
01:47Joel and Diane Bloom Wellness and Event Center. And we're back there again this Saturday.
01:52And like I said, I bring together some of the best mental health professionals in the
01:55country. My good sister, Debbie Brown, Dr. Jay Barnett, Elliot Connie, who focuses on
02:02solution-focused therapy, Michelle Williams, who many of y'all know from Broadway and
02:07Destiny's Child. She's a big mental health advocate. Ayanla Von Zahn is going to be there
02:10as well. Dr. Rita Walker, who wrote an amazing book called The Unapologetic Guide to
02:15Black Mental Health. And like I said, it's a free event because I feel like those type of
02:18resources and that type of information should be free.
02:23So you who want to stuff like that and where you will build a��, you'll see yourself
02:24that writing continues. And there is space outside, where it is one of the things that
02:24may beη GO. And whether it's your favorite learning might be with it and by the end of this
02:25sounds like that you can promote different for a year or two. So the idea is kind of
02:25the job that you canNo y'all believe that should be paid� Reporter throughout and
02:25the job you can't do all the time. Even at the job
02:26and positions at the job." And it's the job that technology will prove it. So now you tell us about
