The Beginning (2004 - 2009)
In 2004, while working as a school social worker Tomás Alvarez III, pioneered an innovative 'Hip Hop Therapy' model that used the process of creating rap music to engage troubled teens in mental health services. With support from BRL Co-founder and Teaching Artist, Rob Jackson, Tomás sought to create a therapeutic program that was grounded in the lives and worldview of the young men with whom he was working. The results were promising. Participants in the pilot Hip Hop Therapy group reported improved mood and self-esteem, as well as a reduction in many at-risk behaviors.
The young men also noted Hip Hop Therapy changed their attitudes about mental health in general by reducing the stigma associated with receiving services. Over the next several years, Tomás and Rob evolved the "BRL Hip Hop Therapy Model" by operating programs at public schools and mental health facilities throughout the Bay Area. During this period Tomas also presented Hip Hop Therapy as an innovative mental health promotion strategy at conferences and symposiums throughout the country in an attempt to bring visibility to BRL's model and program outcomes.