Louisville organization uses beekeeping to support mental health and community
LOUISVILLE, Ky. —
A Louisville organization is using bees to help people heal, bringing families and community members together through nature and beekeeping.
For beekeeper Keith Griffith, tending to hives is about more than producing honey. It is also about family, community and mental health.
“My son was going through a mental health challenge. He got introduced to beekeeping by my brother, and my mother noticed that it was helping him out a lot more than the therapy and a counselor he was going to,” Griffith said.
His son’s experience eventually grew into something much bigger, bringing the entire family together around the hives and inspiring the creation of Beeing2Gether.
“Again, you know, pun intended as being together. You know, a big part of it is community,” Griffith said.
Griffith said spending time near the hives, even when no one else is around, offers a different kind of escape.
“Sometimes I just come out here to sit and just watch the bees and like, we say, you know, it started to pollinate us, you know, pun intended. That turned into the garden and the chickens and the goats and all kinds of stuff,” he said.
That time in nature has become part of what keeps Griffith’s family connected. It is also an experience he wants to share with others, regardless of their age, background or physical abilities.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re handicapped, if you’re young, if you’re old. We have some veterans that we work with,” Griffith said.
That mission is now part of the Beeing2Gether Foundation, which focuses on honeybee preservation and mental health awareness.
“It’s about being together. And it’s, you know, it’s just like an alternative form of therapy for us,” Griffith said.
For Griffith, the hives are about much more than what is happening inside them. They have become a place where people can slow down, spend time in nature and connect with one another.
If you want to get your hands on some Beeing2Gether honey, it’s available online, and in stores at Meijer and Rainbow Blossom.