The Healing WELL:  A safe community for healing, renewal and growth
March 2017 Newsletter

 Support The Healing WELL 
Donations by check, addressed to "The Healing WELL," are also welcome.  Please mail them directly to:

The Healing WELL
234 Hyde Street
San Francisco, CA  94102

ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE.

Letter from the Director

The Healing WELL is on the verge of creating our new home, and we couldn’t be more thrilled about what is to come.  We’re finalizing some of the details in the next couple weeks, and will share with you very soon the whole great story.  In anticipation of our upcoming move, we focused on the meaning of “home” at our March community forum.  We shared what we will need to carry with us to our new space - making it feel as much a home as we have experienced here at the Faithful Fools.  The comments were simple and profound, and I expect they’ll resonate with you, too:

Some people reflected on the tangibles:

  • “The snacks - so good!”

  • “It’s the colorfulness here; it’s not antiseptic.”

  • “There’s cool stuff to look at and touch all around here, and the couch is comfortable.”

Other people commented on the spirit here (“the great feeling and vibe.”):  

  • “It’s a place I can bring my friends.”

  • “You don’t find phoniness here.”

  • “I like that I can come by when it works for me. There’s no pressure to be here, so if I or my daughter is sick and I can’t come, I don’t feel bad.”

  • “It’s like a church.”

  • “So welcoming”

  • “Versatile and flexible”

Still others shared about what The Healing WELL community offers:

  • “My mind quiets when I listen to other people.”

  • “I can come here for practically anything. Even if I felt I just needed a hug I could stop by whenever.”

  • “There’s diversity here which supports my interests.”

  • “This place gives me another tool in my toolbox.

More than anything, we heard the call to continue greeting, supporting and holding one another in our hopes and dreams, and through our struggles and pain.  That’s really what a home is all about (but we certainly better remember the comfortable couch!)  I look forward to sharing with you soon the details of our new home.  Until then, please know I am profoundly grateful to our whole community, which includes you, for the tremendous generosity bestowed upon us.

Sincerely,
Kathy Curran
  

Conscious Relationships with Dave Richo

Thank you Dave Richo!  During the month of March, Dave led a workshop series for The Healing WELL, “Conscious Relationships.”  Dave is an internationally renowned author, teacher, and psychotherapist.  He offered his wisdom, as well as sparked rich discussions around knowing ourselves, coping with fear and anger as we relate to others, and understanding our fundamental needs.  Essential to wellness is relating to others in a healthy way.  We were delighted that the room overflowed with participants each morning.


In partnership with St. Agnes Church’s Spiritual Life Center, we offered a day-long retreat with Dave, too.  Again, the room was packed with people. Dave focused on the spirituality of relationship, adding a deeper context for the discussion.  We look forward to welcoming Dave back when he returns to the Bay Area in October.  To learn more, please visit Dave’s website:  davericho.com.
Community Relationship Building

Over the past three months, the Healing WELL and residents at the Community Housing Partnership's Arnett Watson Apartments, have been getting to know each other quite well.  AWA invited Healing WELL members to various activities to get to know their residents, including coffee hours, birthday parties, and even BINGO night!   

By organically letting relationships and friendships evolve, conversations around health and wellness have inevitably occurred, leading to the great potential for future partnership between AWA and the Healing WELL in a more structured way. 


Healing WELL and AWA residents after a trip to the Farmers Market at the Civic Center
     Nicole communing with nature!

Volunteer Spotlight: Nicole

We want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank our Mercy Corps Volunteer Nicole Fusco for all her work, positive energy, and willingness to help in any capacity that is needed – whether that be facilitating groups, helping fix the snack, taking attendance, or just attending the groups and sharing her wonderful spirit.  Nicole is primarily the Mercy Corps Volunteer for the Faithful Fools, but we are so appreciative and thankful that she spends her Friday mornings with the Healing WELL!

Nicole says: "Volunteering at the Healing WELL has given me the opportunity to get close to some really wonderful people.  It is such a diverse and lively group, it is a privilege to be in their company".


Participant Expression : Poetry and Art

Breathless by I run down hyde
up into the zendo
shoes off bag unshouldered
buttocks to the cushion

Deep breath slow exhale
gradually the breath slows
The ovulations from the nights unrest
can slowly unwind
and feel slowly our awareness of
something else in my body

- Anonymous


JR is an artist who graces the Healing WELL with his kindness, his creativity, his jokes, and his willingness to help wherever he can!  He frequently greets people at the door and serves as the class anchor for the Tuesday morning meditation class.  He is a joy to be around and we are happy to feature his artwork in this newsletter!

Says JR: “The interplay of colors – warm & cool, dark & light, vibrant & soft – is similar to the interplay between people.  Here, and at the Healing WELL, a broad spectrum comes together to weave and create a stronger, unified harmony.”
The Healing WELL is a fiscally-sponsored project of Community Initiatives
415.500.2099 |  support@healingwellsf.org | www.healingwellsf.org
234 Hyde Street (Between Turk & Eddy)