Colorado mom opens clothing store with boys' mental health in mind

Boys' mental health is often overlooked, leading to many disorders that get missed or undiagnosed. And studies show men and boys are less likely to seek help for mental health issues.

Entrepreneur Erica Malone said she just opened a store in Aurora with a guiding principle in mind: that investing in kids is equivalent to investing in the future.

Malone's store Jaxon's Closet is in the Town Center at Aurora. It features clothes that are specifically geared towards boys. She hopes her customers will shop with the psychological benefits of looking good.

"I absolutely know what we're facing here in Aurora," Malone said. "And I'm so happy I'm here."

Malone was referring to the mental health youth crisis the city has been struggling with for several years. Late last year, after the shooting of a 15-year-old boy at a different Aurora shopping mall, a nonprofit supporting underprivileged youth said violence among young people in Aurora can often be attributed to economic instability, lack of family structure and mental health challenges.

Malone says one of her sons has struggled with his mental health at times.

"Whenever he wasn't as confident in whatever he was doing, he would act up so that he can get out of that space really quickly and, unfortunately, it led to behavior issues," she said.

The mission of Jaxon's Closet is to outfit boys with good fashion and to help them stay confident and more able to make friends. As part of that, Malone organizes healthy events for boys to participate in.

"We don't have to wait until they're older and then possibly they're looking at jail time or looking at different things that they can get into, like violence in the community," Malone said.