WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — A new wellness center opened in Hartford County called Where Healing Begins Wellness Center, located at 10 Grassmere Avenue, West Hartford.
The inspiration behind the wellness center is to make mental health services accessible to those in underrepresented and marginalized communities.
Lorena Soto-Bunker is the owner and founder of Where Healing Begins LLC and said she's thrilled her wellness center is finally open.
"There is a little motto I have, and it's called from trauma to thriving," Soto-Bunker explained. "That means for everyone that walks through here with trauma, which everyone does have in one way or another. So the goal is to walk out of here thriving."
The wellness center is community-based and designed to provide affordable mental health services. Soto-Bunker said it especially for those in underrepresented and marginalized communities while eliminating barriers.
"Parents can come to a yoga class while their children are doing therapy or vice versa. And so here we will be offering services such as yoga and dance, Reiki, and massages and movement. "
Soto-Bunker dedicated the opening of the wellness center to her parents and said this is a place designed to help give a voice to the voiceless.
"That's what I want my community to know everyone is important. You guys are so important. This is where you come in, and you take that mask off, and you say who you are, and you're loved, and you appreciate it in this is the best place to do it."
She made this a reality while overcoming the adversity she addressed at her grand opening on Saturday.
"Through physical abuse, through sexual abuse, through bullying, through gang members, being beaten up or doing the beating up."
While her list goes on, she also had to fight cancer twice.
"I continue to do therapy while taking chemo. I would bring my phone with me and still do it. I didn't want to let people down. "
Now she's back in remission but says all the bumps in the road along her journey led to this— Where Healing Begins Wellness Center.
"This is what I'm supposed to do; every experience, even the hardship of cancer, is to show everyone that no matter whenever we think we're down on the ground and we're down on our knees, so many times for me, I've been down on my knees more times than I've been up. But guess what? 46 years that I've been here, I've done it for 46 years."
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