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Before she won a Golden Globe Award, earned an Oscar nomination, or had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Taraji P. Henson was a student at Oxon Hill High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Henson returned to her alma mater during Mental Health Awareness Month, as she teamed up with Prince George’s County Council Chair Edward Burroughs for a mental health workshop for Prince George’s County students.
Henson told WTOP that after facing her own struggles with depression and anxiety, she thought of those in her community that couldn’t afford therapy.
“A community that doesn’t even talk about mental wellness, I felt like I had to get active,” said Henson.
That experience led Henson to create the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation. The organization shines a spotlight on mental health awareness and is named after her father, who had mental health issues after returning from the Vietnam War.
Burroughs told WTOP the mental health event is needed in Prince George’s County.
“One in five of our high school students have contemplated death by suicide, according to our health department, and so we have to do everything that we can to infuse mental health in a way that they will enjoy, in a way that they will receive it,” said Burroughs.
The event featured nontraditional forms of therapy like dance, art, poetry, filmmaking, and dance.
“Our students also are utilizing the arts and dance to take care of their mental health,” said Burroughs.
The students were thrilled to see and meet the most famous member of Oxon Hill High School’s class of 1988.
“We all have dreams when you’re a kid, and to see mine come true and to pass that on to the youth, it means a lot to me,” said Henson.
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