Written by Magdalena Munao
As 2020 was indeed a sobering year of reckoning, with a litany of issues coming to light, one that has been at the forefront of everyone's mind is mental health and wellness. Over the last 12 months, now more than ever, the conversation around mental health has been widespread across countless cultures, both domestic and abroad. As the pandemic has tested many people's mental and emotional capacity, the conversation now revolves mainly around resources and coping. Though he's known for his work as a business entrepreneur, one distinguished Los Angeles attorney has been a significant advocate for improving the mental health and wellness climate in the L.A. area for more than three years now.
With notable work across various business sectors in Los Angeles, including real estate, law, and business and legal consulting, for Charles Lew, his work in the mental health and wellness sector resonates in a whole different way. The importance of maintaining mental health impacted Lew from a young age as his older sister struggled with mental health and illness and ultimately lost her life due to her struggles. In turn, Lew poured himself into efforts to enhance the resources available to Angelenos.
After meeting Dr. Christina Miller of Mental Health America of Los Angeles, Lew was instantly captivated by her unwavering passion for the mental health community. But it was how MHALA had managed to curate an informative conversation around mental health from both a clinical and a non-clinical approach that impressed Lew the most.
"MHALA represents a gathering of some of the most incredible, altruistic, and selfless mental health advocates ever assembled, and being asked to join their board of directors was one of the greatest honors I have ever received," Lew says.
But today, with the pandemic putting even more pressure on the mental health and wellness community, Lew's work with MHALA continues to break barriers across the industry. The rising mental health advocate and his chef-partner, Alex Kagianaris, have recently finished construction on the Third Wave Market Long Beach. The project was also conceptualized with well-known mental health advocate Metta World Peace who worked with Lew and MHALA as a partner on Third Wave Market. And as studies continue to reveal the importance of whole-body health in relation to mental wellness and maintenance, the Third Wave Market specializes in providing vegetarian-based probiotic intestinal-friendly foods, elixirs, coffees, and teas in a quick, efficient, and affordable manner.
"The idea that there's so much research on the effects that diets have on your mental health and well-being is something we wanted to explore," Lew says. "We wanted to create a concept that would embrace the physical aspect of intestinal and gut health and a vegetarian diet and see how these changes would positively impact a person's mental health."
Through Third Wave Market, Lew hopes that patrons will benefit from its physical and mental health resources and its emphasis on community building.  As the last year has proven difficult to commune with friends and loved-ones, Third Wave Market hopes to act as a salient beacon of fellowship for the mental health community of Los Angeles.
For more information on Charles Lew, visit TheLewFirm.com and be sure to look out for the Third Wave Market launch on April 1st 2021.