A sWISH project, G-Herbo spreads awareness about mental health

CHICAGO — Two groups came together Sunday to help achieve a common goal of preventing gun violence and raising mental health awareness.

Project sWISH Chicago partnered with Swervin’ through Stress, an initiative founded by Chicago rapper G-Herbo, to host a basketball event at the Pullman Community Center aimed at providing local youth with a safe outlet away from gun violence, while also focusing on conversations around improving each other’s mental health and emotional well-being.

Project sWISH Chicago was founded about 4 years ago by McKinley Nelson, the goal of the organization was to bring people together through the game of basketball while providing a safe haven from guns and violence.

Likewise, G-Herbo’s Swervin’ Through Stress initiative seeks to connect young black men to mental health therapy to help them recover from the trauma they experienced in Chicago and to financially cover their services.

“[G-Herbo’s] going to play basketball with us,” Nelson said at the event. “He’s going to have open, honest and vulnerable conversations about what he went through growing up here in the city, and hopefully kids can relate to that.”

For more information about Project sWISH Chicago and the Swervin’ Through Stress Initiative, you can visit Project sWISH’s website.