Cook County commissioners hear public testimony on mental health month, ShopTalk community initiative

Cook County Board of Commissioners received public testimony and a presentation supporting item 25 28 13, a resolution recognizing May as Mental Health Awareness Month, and heard multiple community members describe ShopTalk, a barbershop- and salon-based outreach effort to connect youth to mental-health services.

Speakers told the board why the resolution and local outreach matter. "Your mental health is just as important as your physical health," said Christina Saldana, who testified as a parent and urged support for the resolution after describing her 12-year-old son's severe depression and periods when he reported having no will to live. "This highlights the importance of early identification and intervention," she said, quoting national statistics on onset of mental illness.

The public testimony put program details on the record. "ShopTalk is a safe space where we take the conversations ... and we redirect it to conversations about mental health,…