News

Roxbury’s Whittier Street Health Center to Unveil Its First Public Art Exhibit as Part of Its Community Garden Expansion

  • April 27, 2016

May 5, 2016 (Boston, MA) – From 2 PM to 4 PM Whittier will unveil its first public art exhibit as part of its community garden expansion and Decision Arts Therapy, a program focused on helping teens who have been subjected to violence. Whittier opened it Community Garden in June 2015, and this year’s addition includes a garden for its pediatric and adolescent patients. In addition to the expansion, Whittier will install four large cow-shaped canvasses that will be painted by children from its Decision Arts Therapy program and their families.

“The impact of public art on a community is priceless. Public art has the power to energize our public spaces, arouse our thinking, and transform the places where we live, work, and play into a more welcoming and beautiful environment that invites interactions. We are delighted to launch our very first public art installation.” said Whittier Street Health Center President & CEO Frederica Williams.  “Here at Whittier, we are committed to improving the life and well-being of our diverse community.  This exhibit will give us an opportunity to celebrate the therapeutic aspect of public art to the mind, body and spirit as well as take civic pride in our Community Garden.”

 

Art as a language therapy, combined with verbal dialogue, helps to find a more successful resolution to difficulties. The cows in the Kid’s Garden will serve as art canvasses to Whittier’s pre-adolescent and adolescent patients, many of whom have witnessed violence and suffer from trauma.   These patients will paint the cows to give them a chance to use their creative skills and express their emotions through paintings.

 

For more information, please call April Celiz at 617.357.5777 or email at info@cpcglobal.com

 

 

About Whittier Street Health Center (www.wshc.org)

Whittier Street Health Center is a Joint Commission accredited, private, non-profit, independently licensed community health center dedicated to providing high quality, reliable and accessible primary healthcare and support services for diverse populations to promote wellness and eliminate health and social disparities. Serving nearly 30,000 clients with approximately 120,000 clinic visits and 20,000 community outreach visits annually, Whittier has a patient base which is ethnically and racially diverse and includes significant numbers of individuals from Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, the South End and Greater Boston. Whittier provides a comprehensive array of 40 healthcare programs and services designed to meet the primary health care, behavioral health, and social needs of the community. Whittier is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a level 3 (highest level) patient-centered medical home. Learn more at www.wshc.org.

 

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Media Contact: Marwan Albazie

Colette Phillips Communications, Inc.

info@cpcglobal.com /617.357.5777

A note about Whittier and COVID-19

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in our area, we ask all clients and patients to call ahead before coming to any of our sites. We are working to take care of most clients/patients via phone/video encounter so we can meet your ongoing healthcare needs. This is for your safety and so we can provide the highest quality of care to you while following CDC guidance for COVID-19. Please call 617-427-1000 for any questions or concerns.

Whittier will provide COVID-19 testing from 10 am to 4 pm on Monday to Friday. Following CDC guidance, we recommend testing if you have a fever AND one of the following three symptoms: cough OR shortness of breath OR sore throat. Please bring your picture identification and your insurance card (if you have insurance).