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In Solidarity

Healing Justice Collective forms, raises seed funds for BIPOC community restoration

By K.M. Collins

“May I be loved. May all Black, Indigenous and people of color be loved. May all gay, lesbian and trans folks be loved. May all disabled people be loved. May we all be loved.”

—An adaptation, by the Central Oregon Healing Justice Collective, of the popular Buddhist Metta loving-kindness prayer

Aiming to close the long-fraught health and wellness gap in Central Oregon and beyond, a group of locals recently formed the Healing Justice Collective, intended to support Black, Indigenous and people of color, and those who have been historically oppressed in their healing around emotional, physical, spiritual and mental well-being.

“Healing Justice is a grassroots movement that emerged in the South in the early 2000s, led by queer Black and Brown organizers,” explains Central Oregon HJC Co-Founder and Director of Development Jessica Amascual. “The healing justice movement arose amidst folks noticing that their humanity and restorative healing in liberation work was chronically overlooked.”

By K.M. Collins

is key to making it through trying times (need I say the word… COVID). But if signing up for therapy (or finding a therapist) is beyond your scope, these are some health tips that are helping myself and my she-wolf pack make it through the wilderness of winter seasonal affective disorder, political upheaval and beyond.

Chill out with a cold plunge

Locally based, nationally renowned chef, nutritionist and founder of Pure Joy Planet, Elaina Love swears by the cold plunge as a daily practice. Dipping for a few minutes reduces swelling, increases blood flow and releases endorphins, she says. Her signature DIY set up is a backyard metal bath (a would-be trough) that you can find at Wilco or any feed supplier. At first look, this practice might seem counter intuitive, but as motivational speaker Tony Robbins assures, it delivers. In a Business Insider article, he touted the cold plunge’s praises saying it, “Wakes your ass up,” and “trains the mind to not hesitate but to act.”

In a review published in the North American Journal of Medical Sciences, researchers found that “hydrotherapy was widely used to improve immunity

As Amascual sees it, “This is the surest way to build a community where everyone can thrive—healing not only the symptoms, but more importantly, the root causes of systemic oppression on our bodies, hearts and minds.”

The HJC is a nonprofit organization run by women and queer people of color who come from healing and organizing backgrounds. “The work we do is different. It’s authentic and more strategic,” notes Amascual. “Over the last year, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 election season, and the uprisings for Black liberation, we have seen queer Black and Brown women at the forefront of the fight for liberation— shining a light on the change we want to see in the world.”

To underpin, sustain and spearhead these changes, HJC offers an array of healing services, workshops and classes to meet people where they are in their path to healing. All teachers and practitioners are themselves people of color—and that is most essential in healing the community, said Amascual. “Most offerings are meant for people of color only. Healing around race requires affinity spaces. But healing also demands community and for the management of pain,” along with a host of other ailments.

Cultivate and care for plants

Cultural anthropologist and world traveler Amy Williams loves her harem of tropical plants. With over 20 distinct root systems, there is no length she won’t go to for their comfort, including turning up the heat, humidifiers, grow lights and more. Williams carefully assesses each plant daily and looks for ways to increase their comfort. If you aren’t in a position to get a pet (lease regulations, etc.) and you’re wanting to pour your solidarity. For this reason, some of our offerings will be open to allies.”

Co-founder Fatima Castro is clear on how the healing community at large can and cannot provide for this contemporary collective. “We got a lot of feedback, we had white folks, white healers specifically, asking us how they can heal the BIPOC community—and that is really triggering in the sense that white people cannot heal BIPOC community members,” Castro said. “This really inspired the co-op piece where we gathered a list of BIPOC practitioners in town.”

Offerings are all accessibility priced and are curated from lived experiences. Offerings include Yoga for Race-Based Stress and Trauma, Meditation for Sacred Solidarity and The Power of Dreaming.

HJC also offers workshops that include Ancient Practices for Self Care (in Spanish), Parenting Your Child of Color in Central Oregon and Decolonization and Ancestral Healing. HJC also offers stipends for one-on-one healing sessions with practitioners within the Healing Justice Co-Op, including wilderness therapy, massage, reiki and energy medicine, spirit release ritual, chiropractic care, holistic

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nutrition and doula care.

K.M. Collins love and affection into living beings, try building out a flora zoo of kept plants. For small-space or indoor, edible ideas, check out Abbie Cadabby on Facebook. For something simple, look into cultivating sprouts in a cupboard in a spare mason jar! Total magic.

Daily doubles: Fit in exercise

Like many, mother of two, community leader, Bend-based mental health therapist and The Hive venue owner Shanti O’Connor needs body movement every day—multiple times a day. Making it to the gym is great, but if that can’t happen, she gets inventive about carving out time multiple times a day to get exercise, with her 10- and 6-year-olds in tow. Night hikes with other families, mountain bike rides, sledding, dog walks, roller skating at the park, cross-country ski excursions with gal pals—you name it and she’s doing it.

“When exercising, the bilateral movement (engaging left and right sides of the brain) helps me process emotions, clears my thoughts, promotes a positive mood, brings more coherence to my nervous system and inspires new insights into my life,” explains O’Connor.

Judith Sadora and Jessica Amascual, two founding members of the Healing Justice Collective.

To execute these offerings at an accessible cost, HJC has already seen crucial community support. After solidifying a $10,000 pledge from The World Muse and raising over $6,000 via GoFundMe, HJC is still looking for $14K in further support.

“We aren’t free until we all are and so we must each heed the call to action by nationwide uprisings for Black Liberation and believe in the power of grassroots collective efforts,” Amascual said. “The path to liberation for all people will be ushered in by those who bring lived experience to their work, disrupting the inequitable systems that have oppressed our communities for far too long.”

More information, along with a newsletter signup and an informational video, is available at the Healing Justice Collective’s website: healing-justice-collective.mailchimpsites.com.

Warm up with some bone broth

If you haven’t made bone broth from scratch in the comfort of your own kitchen with your favorite cauldron, you’re missing out! Can you think of anything more nurturing on a cold winter night than stirring a pot of savory smelling goodness while a fire blazes in the wood stove? For Sara Beth Feley, local mental health therapist, she prefers stock rendered from beef. Feley chooses to source her bones and cuts from Oregon farms. “Field’s Grass Fed Beef is wonderful,” she said. “They come to town monthly and you can order specific cuts for a very reasonable price. And if you need immediate local meat, Locavore is awesome.” Recipes are endless with a basic scaffolding of salt, pepper and bay leaves.

Make music, learn to play

Longtime local Ashtanga yoga mastress, nordic ski instructor, massage therapist and concert violinist Julie Southwell said this winter has been all about making music. As a music teacher, she encourages Bendites to take up a new instrument this winter. As your brain ages it will be in better shape if you’ve taken music lessons, according to an article in National Geographic. Not only does it grow your brain, it improves your ability to discern sounds. It’s sort of like exercise, but it improves your mental endurance from the comfort of your own home. For a music lesson or body work, find her at violinjulie@gmail.com.

Southwell also encourages learning Ashtanga yoga, delving into the eight limbs of yoga.