Taraji P Henson takes action to address mental illness among black people after her dad struggled with the condition

Taraji P Henson

Actress Taraji P Henson popularly known as Cookie Lyons thanks to her role in the Emprire drama series, recently revealed plans to launch a mental health foundation.  The Foundation, Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation (BLHF), is named after her father and will offer mental health services to youth in the urban schools, combat recidivism in the prison system and provide scholarships to Black students seeking a career in the mental health field to help boost the number of African-American therapists in the United States.

When speaking to People about the foundation and its goals, Taraji shared her passion for the cause and revealed how her father, who died in 2006 at the age of 58 from liver cancer, became the inspiration for it all.