Newsletter: Project Spotlight, The Healing Project

The Healing Project: A Dream Come True
~By Carolyn Jones, Coordinator

The volunteer team of healing practitioners who support this community service are also able educators who are blessed with caring, giving hearts. They have put the HWB Healing Project Mobile Clinic on the fast track!

Aromatherapist Amy Anthony is no stranger to volunteer work. After all, she has been preparing soup at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Manhattan for over 10 years. Now, I represent the HWB Healing Project Mobile Clinic with her by visiting once a month to distribute self-care items and supplements to the many people who come out to receive some neighborly love.

On my last visit, a young woman paused to thank me for “coming out to spend time with them.” Those moments remain lodged in the corners of my heart, especially when the challenges of organizing become a test of patience and finances.

Amy's alchemy talents extended beyond the church kitchen when she prepared a lentil soup seasoned with cumin and cinnamon for our Self-Love as a Daily Meditation event at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture on Tuesday, March 7. The seasonings actually matched the aromatherapy session she offered for our olfactory pleasure!

Amber Merkins, the Clinic Director for the ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism offered an insightful presentation on how to prepare a 2-3 day supply of herbal tea, with optimum benefits.

Our sound healers, Lloyd Leary (The Body Mechanic) and Inci Akidil (The Gong Diva) spread what Lloyd calls “love fungus” around with the didgeridoo, a drum and other percussion instruments to soothe the stress of the city right off of the spirits of our attendees, as the hot, roasted cacao I served during the session, massaged their hearts.

The ArborVitae students did not have time to fully indulge, but I always make sure that they get the opportunity to partake in the gifts we offer at the clinic. They work hard and deserve the attention. I appreciate faculty member, Sam Perry, for his patience as we share the love with each and every one of them. They loved the jasmine tea!

In my last blog, “Divine Connections,” I mentioned a Wellness Wednesday event that we were invited to host at Gaia NoMaya Salt Cave & Spa.

The HWB Healing Project Mobile Clinic practitioners made the day a complete success. Our programming included sound healing (The Body Mechanic), then aromatherapy (NYCAromatica), womb and prostate massage (Nata), holistic lifestyling (Boo Boafo), nutrition (Dynamic Growth & Wellness, LLC), holistic self-care (Reuben Finerson), and flower essences for bereavement (Carolyn Jones).

This mini-conference was beneficial to everyone who attended (ages 21-80+). Surprisingly, the elders stayed for the whole day!

Chaplain Tyheese Love did a great job with event management; and, Good Neighbors, gryn and Melissa, brought even more joy to the day!

We have been asked to return to Gaia NoMaya in April 2023. The new moon highlights will be sound, touch therapy, aromatherapy, herbalism, and flower essences.

The absolute highlight for me on Wednesday, February 22, was having the support of Wren Fialka, Founder and Executive Director of Spread the Love Commission, a nonprofit organization that offers mindful care to people who are displaced and homeless by collecting and distributing socks, gloves, backpacks, toiletries, first aid supplies, and so much more.
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That is where the HWB Healing Project Mobile Clinic comes in. We are honored to be recognized as a part of the Spread the Love Commission resources team.

Spread the Love collects and distributes gloves, socks, sleeping bags, mats, backpacks, toiletries, first aid supplies, and more to people in need. By making the giving personal, Wren creates what she calls “a heart connection.”

Herbalists Without Borders International, Inc. provides our Clinic with herbs, supplements, and self-care inventory that we share with the many communities we serve.

At this time, we are gearing up to increase our services to include personal grooming and dental care for the communities we serve with two recent connections.

Last, but certainly not least, we are very fortunate to have two City University of New York (CUNY) interns: Joy Tonge (Medgar Evers College, Business Administration) and Sean Hoppie (Entertainment Technology, City Tech, who are supporting us with our outreach and media needs. Special thanks to Prof. John Acosta, (Kingsborough Community College), Johanne Brierre (NYBeauty Suite, BKLYN Commons) and Peter Holoman (Medgar Evers College), for making it all possible.

Contact: Carolyn Jones, Clinic Coordinator, cmjonesmedia@gmail.com

Some photos from our event: