Since 1995, The Prostate Net (www.TheProstateNet.com) has kept men and their families “in the know,” continuing their leadership role in community health advocacy regarding prostate cancer and other important health issues, via aggressive public education, early detection, treatment programs and support systems.

How the Barbershop Program works:

Through the Barbershop Initiative™ (www.theknowledgenet.info/barbershop.html), local African American barbers, become “lay health motivators” by taking part in brief prostate cancer information sessions led by local healthcare professionals. This training empowers barbers, who are already historically respected as influential leaders in the community, to educate their clients about the disease and direct them to partner hospitals and health centers for screenings and information about treatment options.

The barbers work with local hospitals and community leaders, encouraging men to get checked for prostate cancer.

Since its inception in 2004, led by President of The Prostate Net and prostate cancer survivor, Virgil Simons, more than 12,000 men have been screened in partnership with barbers and leading medical centers.

How to participate in Essex County, NJ?

If you are an Essex County barber who would like participate in the Barbershop Initiative, please contact Ms. Aretha Hill-Forte at 973-877-2989.

A new initiative developed in 2007 by the Essex County Cancer Coalition with the collaboration of the Atlantic County Healthy Living Coalition is enhancing The Prostate Net’s Barbershop Initiative™ statewide in New Jersey by working to affiliate barbers with NJCEED lead agencies, which are already funded to provide prostate (and other) cancer screening to uninsured persons with low to moderate incomes.  This initiative is funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services.

Read about training for barbers in Essex County,
Monday, January 14, 2008

To learn more about the Barbershop Initiative visit www.theknowledgenet.info/barbershop.html.