Men entered a room on the campus of Abilene Christian University Dallas Campus Friday night into a unique space where they can "feel seen, heard, supported, and affirmed," organizers say.
“Have a little bit of fun. Dance a little bit. Have a little bit of food and be in a space where they feel safe to be whoever they desire to be," Candid Conversations founder Kristen Guillory said.
Guillory, from Dallas, graduated from Texas Christian University and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Texas Arlington. She wanted Candid Conversations to be where men can open up to one another and lend an understanding ear.
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"To look around the room of people who may look like you or people who don't look like you and I'm not judged, I'm not side-eyed, and you are not looking at me crazy but you see me and you hear me," Guillory said.
Mental health, coping with anger and even current events are all open for discussion.
"You need to feel what you feel,” facilitator Roderick Miles said. “So hopefully that incident in Memphis will come up organically and we can really lean into that and come up with some positive solutions on how we react and how we respond to that."
Miles said men who don't deal with what's affecting them mentally can be affected physically.
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"They're dying because of stress, diabetes, heart attacks,” Miles said. “They are getting in domestic violence in their relationships and stuff because they don't have an outlet where they can decompress. Where they can let out everything they are experiencing and that they are feeling in a positive way."
Guillory plans for Candid Conversations to grow across the country providing men a safe space to be that helping hand to their fellow man.
"They are going to leave with a new connection,” Guillory said. “They are going to leave with an understanding that you are not alone. And if you needed something to spark that fire to keep going you are going to have that and know it's okay to not be okay."
ONLINE: To learn more about Guillory and Candid Conversations for Men click here.
