Healing House Promotes Mental Health And Wellness

Heavy Crownz, Peace Campus Director at Imagine Englewood If, and Michelle Rashad, Executive Director at Imagine Englewood If. Photo provided by Rise Strategy Group.
Heavy Crownz, Peace Campus Director at Imagine Englewood If, and Michelle Rashad, Executive Director at Imagine Englewood If. Photo provided by Rise Strategy Group.

Healing House Promotes Mental Health And Wellness

By Tia Carol Jones

Imagine Englewood If opened the Healing House in May, with the mission to engage the community in a conversation about mental health and wellness. The Healing House is also meant to be a space for resources and connection, while promoting growth in mental, physical and spiritual wellness.

Imagine Englewood If was founded in 1997 by Jean Carter Hill and Helen Arnold Massey. Carter Hill advocated for environmental justice and lead prevention within the Englewood community and expanded the focus of the organization to include youth programming and gardening. The goal of the non-profit is to create safe and empowering spaces for young people in the community. The organization teaches local youth positive communication skills, environmental awareness and healthy living. Imagine Englewood If’s Peace Campus is located at 6400 S. Rhodes.

Heavy Crownz, the Peace Campus Director at Imagine Englewood If, came to the organization while he was working in education and wanting a deeper connection to his community. He was introduced to Michelle Rashad, the Executive Director at Imagine Englewood If, and he was brought on staff.

Heavy Crownz said that having the Healing House open to the community is a personal win for him. He led the development of the space and the design of it. He said he is glad that Imagine Englewood If could be the steward of the space and continue to work to be a premiere organization for a vibrant third space for people in the community. As someone from Englewood, the Peace Campus Director, and an emcee who uses Hip Hop as a part of his messaging for growth and wellness, makes the Healing House opening a hit for him and impacts him on different levels.

“When you come into the Healing House on a Saturday, you could see a group of men, sitting in a circle, pouring into each other, exchanging information and on another day, you could see women, in a circle together, building and pouring into each other, or doing a fun activity around wellness together,” he said.

Heavy Crownz said that the Healing House is also a space where people can do yoga, use it for staff meetings, a healthy cooking class or a restorative peace circle. He said having partners support the efforts of the organization in building the Healing House was empowering. He said it was a good feeling to know that beyond the people on the ground doing the work, that people valued the work and wanted to be a part of it by providing grants and funding. He said it feels like more people are seeing the bigger picture of the work the organization is doing.

Heavy Crownz said that the Englewood Quality of Life Plan is a vital outline for the enhancement of the community in continuing to create welcoming spaces. He said that the Healing House prioritizes the plan, which focuses on education, mental health and wellness, housing and employment.

“We look to enhance and amplify the health and wellness work by having a facility that caters to that, by amplifying and expanding the resources that are within the Englewood Quality of Life Plan,” he said.

Heavy Crownz said that people who have participated in programs at the Healing House have provided positive feedback about the space and the programs there. He said a big part of healing and growth is environment and when people come into the space, it is so warm and inviting, people are more relaxed when they enter the space. They come away with new tools, new information and new ways to engage with their mental wellness. He said he looks forward to meeting all of the people who will be blessed by the space.

For more information about Imagine Englewood If, visit www.imagineenglewoodif.org.

Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

Quandra-Urban Market Exchange