With some soil, colorful pots and a variety of succulents, Magaly Garcia will teach mental well-being. Mental well-being is still widely stigmatized in communities of color, especially in the Latino community.
In East Los Angeles, The Wellness Center — a free program at the Los Angeles General Medical Center — is taking a creative approach to prioritize mental well-being among the large Latino population of the eastside by coupling creative workshops with regular mental health services.
“It keeps us busy, we’re working with nature,” said Garcia. “Gardening has shown to help with stress and anxiety and also just a fun activity to have outside in the sunshine.”
Garcia works as a wellness navigator at the center and is tasked with innovating ways to expand on traditional mental health service. She recently led a gardening workshop to teach stress management to women of the eastside.
“A lot of the ladies understand that they are not alone,” she said. “They have a lot of things in common a lot of experiences that they’ve gone through as well.”
Through community-focused, cultural and language-relevant workshops, the wellness center has been able to open the minds of a community who often pushes back on mental health.
“If you’re depressed and don’t feel like doing anything, you get told lazy,” said Garcia. “If you have anxiety, they tell you it’s all in your head.”
Read more at SpectrumNews1.com.
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