MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — In the latest installment of Pride Magazine’s Health and Education issues, the magazine highlighted the work of a nonprofit doing the work each and every day to create safe spaces for women. Through our Pride Magazine partnership this month, WCNC Charlotte anchor Colin Mayfield takes you to TruSolace, which is looking to serve women of color who often don’t have equitable access to mental health resources.
Brooke Holmes says she finds herself at home with TruSolace, a place she says women and girls can just be their true selves. For her, it's all about the peace provided.
"I've had to balance college and high school classes, plus band and work," she said. "It's been hard trying to find time for homework. When you do find a balance, it can help you succeed."
Wise beyond her years, the high school student finds the zen she needs at TruSolace. It's become a place for women and girls, just like Brooke, to show who she really is and tackle the myriad of issues that life can throw at a young woman.
"You don't want to get to a bad point in your mental health where you can't reach out and you end up doing something you regret later on," Holmes said.
TruSolace was born from founder Reneisha Black’s passion to bring quality access to people who are often forgotten about. Its goal is to fill in the gaps that often create an absence of services for women of color. She went back to school to become a therapist and founded her nonprofit in May of 2023.
Now, TruSolace finds itself in the midst of the country’s mental health crisis and in the Beatties Ford Road corridor, which is a key area in Charlotte needing access to the support it offers.
"It has not been something that our culture has encouraged, so that's why our mission is focused on girls and women of color," Black told WCNC Charlotte.
TruSolace works in many of the schools along Beatties Ford Road and provides different options for therapy like groups or play therapy for kids. There are even opportunities for parents.
Program manager Jackie Garcia says everything was intentionally focused on women and families, from the board to the programming and even specific types of experienced-based support. As a parent of 3 biological children and a foster parent of 16-year-old boys, Garcia created a program entirely focused on parents fostering children and tackling the unique challenges with that journey.
"Some of the programming was born out of gaps that I've experienced as a parent in this community," Garcia explained.
Since opening, TruSolace has raised more than $125,000 to support its mission and expand services. And it all came to fruition by an act of courage, the passion that spurred Black to provide a place for people to show up.
In addition to group therapy, TruSolace has bilingual play therapists hoping to break down existing barriers for others.
Contact Colin Mayfield at cmayfield@wcnc.com or follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.