Thousands of New Yorkers deal with mental health struggles every day. 

For Richard Colón, photography has been a step in the right direction. 

“A lot of times, when I’m actually shooting out here, it’s usually just to unwind after a long day,” Colón said. 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, he was a teacher for nearly two decades. He only left the industry to take care of his mental health. Now, he works at the University of Rochester as a college counselor by day and a street photographer by night. 

“It’s actually great to just de-stress and just get great shots of Rochester,” Colón said. “I had a big pride issue because I’m a man and I don’t like asking for help. So that was one of the big things that was starting me from that trying to actually want me to get mental health support because I felt like I didn’t need it.” 

Since leaving his teaching career, he's lost three of his former students to gun violence. The latest was Rochester's first homicide victim of 2023, Sideic Robinson, who was killed leaving his shift at Burger King on Lyell Avenue in January. 

“It’s hard because it messes with your mental health because you obviously think, ’Wow I could have done more, probably could do this or that.’ And it’s tough.” 

Colón says he often wonders what if he stayed in touch with his former students more. 

"As a teacher, you lose a lot of different touch with students after they graduate and they move on to other grades,” he said. “Or maybe you move to a different building or whatnot.” 

That's why he takes his experience with mental health to work with him. He educates his current students on the resources available to them. 

“I always tell them to make sure they make connections to the people that are important to your life so that if they’re going through something, they can confide in them and hopefully utilize them so they don’t go through something that’s traumatic on their own,” Colón said. 

Colón says he offers his wisdom, a shoulder to cry on and anything else he can to relate to students struggling. 

“I tell them how photography helped me, but photography may not help everybody.” 

Colón explains photography helped him and hopes something can help everyone he comes in contact with in the future. 

“Somebody like me or somebody that they’re close to, that they may look up to for support or whatnot,” Colón said. “There’s not always going to be there.” 

Colón's photography is exhibited every first Friday of the month at his gallery, Behind the Glass, at Mercantile on Main in Rochester. He's always looking for new local artists to collaborate with to show how the arts can have an impact on the community.