How I am working
In Spring of 2022, I leased a storefront on Main Street in Beacon, NY with the intention of providing accessible holistic care to the community. The dream was big: rethink wellness, rethink capitalism, and move away from 'self care' to community care.
I was recovering from hip surgery and barely able to walk - racing into this new project because I could no longer continue to provide care for a privileged few. As an acupuncturist, herbalist, and yoga instructor in private practice I knew that the people needing care the most were the least likely to receive it.
Within a few weeks I had assembled a team of practitioners and fellow activists who also believed that everyone deserves access to quality holistic care. The pandemic had shown us that no individual can be truly ‘well’ while their neighbors are suffering.
Through crowdfunding - we raised the money to start our clinic and try out a new business model. We asked our community to help us create a more accessible model of care by recognizing the inherent injustice of who is able to afford modalities like acupuncture, and gave them a way to contribute to our project. We requested that our community members with more wealth and privilege pay more for services to create a direct redistribution of wealth.
Since I started DayDream Collaborative Clinic in April of 2021 - we have been able to cover our clinic costs, train new practitioners, and provide hundreds of free and low cost treatments. We bring our neighbors accessible acupuncture, support groups, reiki, yoga, meditation, craniosacral therapy, acupressure, aromatherapy, sound therapeutics, workshops, celebrations, and many many cups of tea.
After living through lockdown, providing care as an essential worker, and volunteering at a harm reduction center - I had to do something more than just continue to perpetuate the myth of 'wellness' as a personal quest. I had to address the systemic injustice that keep so many people unwell. I needed to be with other activists and changemakers in a space where we our community can heal, so we are creating it together.