Therapist brings mental health resources to underserved communities in Philadelphia

By Christie Ileto

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    PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A Philadelphia therapist is taking to the road for a mental health mission.

Sarah Andrew’s new mobile therapy unit is going into underserved communities, and she is hoping to fight stigma and violence with conversations.

It was an idea three years ago, turned into a reality.

Andrews, a licensed therapist, is taking her new mobile therapy unit to the people who need it most: in under-resourced Black and Brown communities.

The North Philadelphia native’s first stop was a health and wellness fair with Dr. Ala Stanford this month.

Equipped with couches, art and powered by solar panels, Andrews cut the ribbon on the new set of wheels in July.

When she isn’t seeing patients, Andrews is working with her nonprofit Dare 2 Hope, aimed at educating people about mental wellness. Her mission began after her friend died by suicide.

“My goal is to normalize mental health, the conversations, normalize talking about our issues,” she said.

Especially as neighborhood beefs, followed by trauma from what’s playing out on Philadelphia’s blocks coincide with the deadly shootings gripping the city.

“When I think about gun violence, we’re dealing with so much stuff on the inside, we don’t know what to do with it, so a lot of it plays out as anger. A lot of times it plays out as ‘I can’t resolve conflict,'” she said.

“So this will be a tool, I hope, to help curb the gun violence. If we allow people to process their emotions, to process PTSD, we might be better off as a city.”

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