WRITTEN BY: CECILIE BREE WILKINS
After taking time off from music to deal with his mental and physical health, Justin Bieber is back with new music. After announcing his new album, Changes, Bieber has gotten more candid with the promotion of his newest project, taking time to speak on his struggle with mental health, which caused him to halt his career.
Bieber’s new music video for the song, “Intentions,” with Quavo was introduced on MTV’s Fresh Out Live. While appearing on the show, Bieber presented a check for $100,000 to Julie Coker, a young fan who’s fighting to create more awareness about mental health issues.
Julie is a senior at New Jersey’s Stockton University, where she is president of her school’s chapter of Active Minds, an organization that aims to raise mental health awareness for college students across the country. This donation is said to help support Corker’s future career as a social worker. Corker plans to use Bieber’s donation to fund graduate school while the rest is to be given to Active Minds.
According to a press release, Corker has been diagnosed with depression, and has pledged to help others with similar struggles by working to de-stigmatize mental health issues. So far Corker has helped screen almost 4,000 students for depression, discorded eating behaviors, or suicidal ideation.
“It’s important for us to talk about mental health because more than 50 percent of us will have a mental health challenge in our lifetime,” Corker stated. “[Justin] has a big following, so if he has a good message about mental health, hopefully everybody else … will want to start thinking about mental health in a different way.”
The music video for the song, “Intentions,” follows three women from the L.A. women’s shelter, Alexandria House, detailing their struggle. While focusing on these women’s stories and bringing awareness to those that are similar, Bieber also launched a $200,000 fund to help support the shelter.
Photo Source: Esquire
