"After a collective trauma, people tend to sing and move and dance and eat. None of that is incorporated into North American health systems, but most of us who have worked with other cultures, or who have worked with refugees, see how much comfort people get from those activities. Songs and communal sounds that we make let us feel at one with the people around us and are very powerful, very comforting ways of re-establishing connections with other human beings."
- Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
Mobile Healing House
The Black Healers Collective’s Mobile Healing House offers loving spaces that support individual and collective well-being in community settings. Activities within the house (which is not a physical dwelling, but rather a series of inviting healing spaces) are self-directed and facilitated, providing opportunities for individual engagement and group participation. They build upon the ways that people often engage in healing work when they are ready – by having meaningful conversations, speaking their truths, moving their bodies, playing with others, getting creative, resting and relaxing, sharing a meal, and connecting to something greater than themselves (ex. community, nature, faith traditions)... Across identities and cultures, these time-tested healing practices bring people into deeper relationship with the many dimensions of themselves that are essential to their healing – their hearts, minds, bodies, voices and spirits – and remind them that they are part of a larger web of life that resources and sustains their existence.
As part of its Healing House, BHC can install and staff seven different types of healing spaces in neighborhood and community settings like schools, parks, churches and open lots. Each space is designed to respond to experiences of social need and harm; remind people of their innate capacities to heal; and connect them to resources and relationships that advance their well-being. Community partners work with BHC members to determine which spaces are likely to be the most beneficial to participants. Descriptions of each space are provided in the accompanying table:
Mobile Healing House: Welcome Home!
| Living Room | Gather | A space to gather, socialize and engage in guided healing activities in both large and small groups | Drumming, ceremony, communal songs and chants, facilitated discussions, group movement, guided meditations, shared rituals, open reflection |
| Dining Room | Nourish | A space to get nourishment through good conversation and healthy meals | Healthy snacks, light meals, herbal teas, meaningful conversations |
| Play Room | Be Active | A space for fun and healing play for youth, adolescents, and adults. For young ones, this space includes structured activities | Jump rope, boxing bags, ball games, board games, step and dance sessions, yoga stretches |
| Art Room | Create | A space for authentic emotional expression and creativity | Self-expression / graffiti walls with prompts, arts and crafts, scrap booking, poster boarding |
| Listening Room | Listen | A space to be heard, reflect and connect. | Listening booths for one-on-one conversations with healers, individual music stations, altar / grounding space with reflection questions |
| Rest & Relaxation Room | Slow Down | A space for decompression, relaxation and restoration | Aromatherapy; soothing music; comfy chairs, body pillows and weighted throws, healing touch |
| Porch | Share | A grounding, outdoor space for informal conversation and connection | Fire pit, scented woods, lawn / rocking chairs, storytelling and sharing |
To book the Black Healers Collective’s Mobile Healing House for your neighborhood or community event, email info@inpowerinstitute.com