When HealHaus opened in the heart of Bed-Stuy in 2018, co-founders Darian Hall and Elisa Shankle set out to provide wellness services—everything from yoga and acupuncture to therapy—to those in the neighborhood. “The studio really became an integral part of the community,” Hall tells ESSENCE. “There wasn’t really anything in the area that looked like this for people of color. It was accessible and inclusive, and wasn’t intimidating,” he says.
Even though the brick and mortar space, where you could find vibrant tunes and diverse, enthusiastic wellness teachers leading workshops and classes, closed last summer, the mission continues.
Most recently, Hall has expanded the concept of HealHaus with the HealHaus Foundation. “It’s really a full circle moment,” Hall says of the nonprofit organization that will provide free therapy services to communities of color, with an emphasis on Black women. “We’ll also be doing some community programming as part of the foundation as well.”
Hall and team plan to open up a quarterly cohort where people can apply for the free therapy via HealHaus Foundation. Once submissions close, the team will select 25-35 people to award the wellness scholarships to. “The scholarship will allow up to 12 weeks of free therapy and meditation sessions to each person,” Hall explains.
Hall adds that he wouldn’t be able to show up and do this important work without his own mental health and self-care practices. For him, especially in a season of transition, the top priority is “not adding more stress by trying to rush to get to the next point,” he says. “I’m really trying to be in the moment and allow things to play out as they’re meant to. That’s been instrumental in me managing all of this.” In addition, he notes, “I’m a big, big music head, making sure that I take my time to enjoy shows or get out to shows. That’s always been self-care for me.”
Lastly, his advice to budding founders is simple yet immensely important. “It’s all about knowing you’re doing the best that you can and that you don’t have to do all the things,” he says. “It’s okay to have boundaries and to say no. I think a lot of times, when you’re in a position of being a founder of something, you’re wearing so many different hats and it’s sometimes hard to have boundaries— but it’s really essential to do that for your own preservation and sanity.”
In addition to currently being able to apply now for the HealHaus Foundation services, you can also look forward to the possibility of a physical HealHaus space—or even multiple—in the future. “The goal is to definitely open up one to two more studios—specifically in Brooklyn and another city that I can’t mention yet,” he shares.
Regardless of his work in the wellness space, Hall leads with the same intentions throughout. “I believe everyone should have access to a therapist. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be just when something goes wrong,” Hall says. “It’s important to not keep things bottled up inside. I think a lot of times we tend to do that. But I do think that all of this work just makes us better people to our family members and our communities.”
