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By alexis mitchell, 27 February 2011

Valentine’s day sent some love to the women of DASH, the District Alliance for Safe Housing, Inc., in the opening of the Cornerstone Wellness Room.   Brought to you by Anahata Grace and funded by Verizon,  services offered in this room will include acupuncture, acupressure, Thai massage, yoga therapy, cooking classes, and other wellness programs for women who have been victims of domestic violence.  There to partake in the ribbon cutting ceremony was acupuncturist Nicole Mires, who shares with us a bit from her first day offering what wellness her hands are able to provide.

I had a great time yesterday.  Anticipation on my way to the house… worrying if the women would like me, if they’d like the treatments, and if we could really make a difference here.  I worked as a behavioral health counselor while I was in grad school, but that experience was years ago and miles away, and not a very positive one.  I wondered if the women would look at me as a privileged middle class white girl with no experience of need or pain.  I wondered if they would accept their treatments without me telling them “you can trust me, because I’ve seen the bottom”.  I shuffled through these thoughts and insecurities and then I realized with a pang that my ego was running away with me.  This isn’t about me.  This isn’t about me being able to tell my friends and family, with my chin held high, that I was doing something selfless for someone else.  This isn’t about my experience or my ego or my expensive shoes.  I’m a conduit.  The treatment works.  The healing is in them, as they have probably already figured out.  I’m just a conduit, and whatever I think I might be able to add to their healing is stubble and hay, burned away by their own curative fire.
Continue reading 'Room to Heal'»

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By alexis mitchell, 6 August 2010

This week, Anahta Grace volunteer and psychotherapist Michell Stanley announces the creation of our very first wellness center, to provide healing for those inhabiting the  District Alliance for Safe Housing, Inc. (DASH).

The mission of the District Alliance for Safe Housing, Inc. (DASH) is to ensure access to safe and sustainable refuge for victims of domestic violence through the development and management of safe housing and related services, while increasing the capacity of other community-based organizations to expand housing for victims throughout the District of Columbia.  As part of fulfilling this mission, DASH has honored Anahata Grace with the responsibility of facilitating wellness programming for the organization’s newest program, Cornerstone, which is scheduled to open this fall.  The Wellness room will offer a full schedule of yoga classes including acupuncture, reiki, yoga therapy, and meditation, all geared towards providing residents with wellness services from a holistic perspective.

Continue reading 'DASH Wellness Center'»