The Wellness Collaborative, Inc (TWC), founded by three black women – an internist, a pediatrician and psychologist – is a nonprofit that provides an innovative solution to eliminating health care disparities. We provide education, insight and best practices that promote sustainable personal and community health, wellness and resilience.

TWC is unique because of our interdisciplinary framework, ethno-cultural focus and our strengths approach to the social determinants of health. Rather than using the typical labeling of social and environmental issues as “determinants,” we frame them as “influencers.” We explore these factors through The 7 Disciplines of Wellness, based on the construct developed by Allen Callahan, PhD as a model for sustainable living. The disciplines are Industry, Security, Education, Alimentation (food), Remediation (Health and Healing), Communication and Habitation.

Multiple studies have shown that African American communities, often delineated by zip codes, experience disparate care and health care outcomes, regardless of education or income level. The foundation of the nonprofit is its interdisciplinary membership, tasked with providing a think tank that researches and identifies asset-based best practices and trends for improving the wellbeing, advocacy and agency for our target communities, which includes ethno-cultural and historical interventions.

The members organize and present, along with guest speakers, our signature Reimagining Health & Wellness Forums on critical topics. We use a community-based participatory design, to stimulate conversation and encourage multigenerational action for individuals, their families, and the community. Both the membership and the forums are broadly integrative in nature. The members are professionals, artists, advocates, researchers, community service workers, farmers, healers, and educators. The forums include allopathic, complementary, and traditional healing modalities, as well as behavioral, social and emotional learning solutions.

In addition to the public forums, TWC offers The Gathering Space for small group grief work and mental health support services. TWC theme based workshops, consultations, and training for health care service organizations, provider groups, and employers in any sector will contribute to the formation of a digital network of resources for experiential wellness and direct care services. Our model of engagement welcomes residents to provide input on TWC through board participation, surveys and direct feedback on existing offerings. 

TWC will serve as an incubator that fosters training and small business development in the healing arts and wellness coaching and is poised to complement and collaborate with the full range of community businesses and health related services. Our Community Board Membership is  made up of are professionals, artists, advocates, researchers, community service workers, farmers,  healers, and educators.  

Finally, TWC offers  workshops, consultations, and trainings for health care service organizations, provider groups,  and employers in any sector.

The Wellness Collaborative Inc. © 2020 http://thewellnesscollaborative.org/