Around Queens Breaking the Silence on Mental Health with Dr. Edgar Hobbs Jr. Ep 006

In this episode of Around Queens, I sit down with Dr. Edgar Hobbs Jr., a proud Queens native, licensed mental health counselor, and longtime guidance counselor who spent 26 years supporting students with emotional and developmental needs in New York City’s District 75. Now the founder of Strategies & Solutions For Life and Director of the Hope & Grace Mental Health Wellness Center at First Baptist Church of Corona, Dr. Hobbs works to bring honest conversations about mental health into the community. We talk about his journey, the growing awareness around mental health, and why he is especially committed to helping Black and Brown men find the support they deserve. Around Queens is a long-form interview series that explores how people build meaning, systems, and community when the old rules no longer work. Each episode centers on a single conversation with a Queens-based builder, creator, or organizer—not to spotlight titles or résumés, but to understand the moments that changed their direction and the values shaping what they’re building now. The show looks beyond charity and success narratives to examine care as design, dignity as infrastructure, and quality of life as a measure of progress. While rooted in Queens, these stories speak to a global audience navigating uncertainty, policy shifts, economic pressure, and the search for what actually matters. Hosted by Luchia Dragosh, Around Queens treats the borough as a lens—not a limit—for understanding how people respond when institutions fall short, and humans step in.In this episode of Around Queens, I sit down with Dr. Edgar Hobbs Jr., a proud Queens native, licensed mental health counselor, and longtime guidance counselor who spent 26 years supporting students with emotional and developmental needs in New York City’s District 75. Now the founder of Strategies & Solutions For Life and Director of the Hope & Grace Mental Health Wellness Center at First Baptist Church of Corona, Dr. Hobbs works to bring honest conversations about mental health into the community. We talk about his journey, the growing awareness around mental health, and why he is especially committed to helping Black and Brown men find the support they deserve. Around Queens is a long-form interview series that explores how people build meaning, systems, and community when the old rules no longer work. Each episode centers on a single conversation with a Queens-based builder, creator, or organizer—not to spotlight titles or résumés, but to understand the moments that changed their direction and the values shaping what they’re building now. The show looks beyond charity and success narratives to examine care as design, dignity as infrastructure, and quality of life as a measure of progress. While rooted in Queens, these stories speak to a global audience navigating uncertainty, policy shifts, economic pressure, and the search for what actually matters. Hosted by Luchia Dragosh, Around Queens treats the borough as a lens—not a limit—for understanding how people respond when institutions fall short, and humans step in.In this episode of Around Queens, I sit down with Dr. Edgar Hobbs Jr., a proud Queens native, licensed mental health counselor, and longtime guidance counselor who spent 26 years supporting students with emotional and developmental needs in New York City’s District 75. Now the founder of Strategies & Solutions For Life and Director of the Hope & Grace Mental Health Wellness Center at First Baptist Church of Corona, Dr. Hobbs works to bring honest conversations about mental health into the community. We talk about his journey, the growing awareness around mental health, and why he is especially committed to helping Black and Brown men find the support they deserve. Around Queens is a long-form interview series that explores how people build meaning, systems, and community when the old rules no longer work. Each episode centers on a single conversation with a Queens-based builder, creator, or organizer—not to spotlight titles or résumés, but to understand the moments that changed their direction and the values shaping what they’re building now. The show looks beyond charity and success narratives to examine care as design, dignity as infrastructure, and quality of life as a measure of progress. While rooted in Queens, these stories speak to a global audience navigating uncertainty, policy shifts, economic pressure, and the search for what actually matters. Hosted by Luchia Dragosh, Around Queens treats the borough as a lens—not a limit—for understanding how people respond when institutions fall short, and humans step in. qptv.org