Usher to appear at New Look’s youth summit on mental health

Usher's New Look is teaming with Cricket Wireless to host a virtual summit focused the effects of recent events on teens' mental health.

Youth will be invited to participate in the Disruptivate Racial Inequity & Mental Health Trauma Summit on Tuesday, June 30 from 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

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A press release said the forum would give teens the space to discuss how the coronavirus pandemic, socioeconomic inequality and racism have affected their mental health and general well-being. The forum will make a point to discuss the “chronic, racially charged violence that continues to plague the Black community in the United States.” Coping mechanisms on how to handle mental stress will be provided.

“UNL’s Disruptivate Racial Inequity & Mental Health Trauma Summit is designed to offer comfort and counsel to young people who are experiencing pain, isolation and fear as our country faces a pandemic and extraordinary social unrest,” Careshia Moore, president and CEO of Usher’s New Look said in a statement. “We commend Cricket Wireless for their invaluable support, and we thank them for creating the impetus to foster healthy solutions — and hopefully a brighter outlook for our young people.”

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Usher himself; UNL’s president Careshia Moore; psychologist, scientist, media personality, author and speaker Dr. Alfiee M. Breland-Noble; and Ashley Edwards, who founded tech startup MindRight; are among the panelists. MindRight’s mission is to make mental health services accessible and inclusive to communities of color and low-income families.

To continue supporting youth in need, Cricket Wireless and AT&T are donating $100,000 to MindRight Foundation to help continue its mission. Cricket Wireless is also donating $50,000 to UNL. Usher and his mother, Jonetta Patton, founded it in 1999 to transform "the lives of under-resourced youth through a comprehensive program which develops passion-driven, global leaders."

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“On the heels of months of isolation and as our country grapples with racism and social injustice, forming meaningful, positive connections is essential for our youth,” Cricket Wireless president John Dwyer said in a statement. “By participating in events like this and collaborating with organizations that help fill critical gaps in our communities, our goal is help young people build healthy human connections that set them up to succeed and flourish.”