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Salon owners Nelson Urraca and Hermione Fraser of Brooklyn |
“You can reach everyone you want to reach in the community at the barber shop or the salon,” says Brignel Camilien, who coordinates the program. “It’s the perfect venue to reach people without mistrust.”
Barbers and stylists in the 9 shops currently enrolled in this phase of the program receive training to have health conversations with their clients and basically serve as a conduit for health knowledge within the community. They are not paid, so it’s done purely for the love and preservation of the community that they do this work. And it’s working.
“Working with the Institute has been a promising experience for my clients because they learn what to ask when they go to the doctor. I also get a lot of knowledge. The Breast Cancer Awareness Session was the most memorable because I had a client who attended the session and got tested after. She then found out she had breast cancer and was able to get ahead of it. Today, she’s doing okay.”
Nelson Urraca, 30-year owner of Nelson’s Barbershop, sums up his relationship with the Institute in three words, “knowledgeable, joyful, and hopeful.” While Elaine Richards, owner of Royal Ambiance Salon says that the most important program that the institute has provided thus far would be the HIV/AIDS program. “The experience influenced the young people the most because they have become more cautious when having sex because they understand more now,” she explains.
Brignel says the program’s goal is to educate 300 people by getting them to enroll in bi-weekly text reminders about their risk and HIV prevention. It’s an initiative that is sorely needed given the HIV infection rate for black women is over 20 times higher than for white women, and of
the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS, more than 498,400 are
Black.

Tiffani Greenaway is the wife and mom behind MyMommyVents, a New York
city parenting blog. Her tips have been seen on Yahoo Parenting, Mommy
Noire, and Fit Pregnancy. Find more of Tiffani’s work at mymommyvents.com.
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