Plymouth Healing Communities (PHC) is committed to creating a strong sense of community among its residents. We strongly believe that healing can be achieved through meaningful connections with others in a supportive environment. PHC's Companionship Program and structured group activities aim to help our residents in their healing process by reducing social isolation and loneliness, which are often associated with homelessness and mental illness. Our residents benefit greatly from these programs, which enable them to take walks, embark on new adventures, or simply go out for coffee with their companions or fellow residents and staff in their neighborhoods and beyond.
PHC Argonaut Apartments, located in Seattle's historic Central District, offers our residents exposure to a community with a rich history of involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and steeped in African-American arts and culture.
NAAM, housed in the reimagined Coleman School Building.
A small group of Argonaut residents, accompanied by Dakota, PHC’s volunteer and resident coordinator, took advantage of a beautiful Friday in October to explore their neighborhood and take a ten-minute walk to visit the Northwest African-American Museum (NAAM), housed in the reimagined Coleman School building.
Two Argonaut residents starting their tour of the museum.
During their visit, the group explored three exhibits, one of which was "Positive Frequencies" - a collection of mixed media pieces that highlighted the unifying and healing power of music as a universal language. The exhibit showcased influential African-American pop, R&B, and jazz musicians. The residents were impressed by the colorful and expressive exhibit, which featured artwork by C. Bennet, Eric Salisbury, Myron Curry, and Samuel Blackwell.
"Oregon Black Pioneers" tells the stories of a small group of Black men and women who challenged Oregon's discriminatory laws, settling in Oregon between 1840 and 1870 and laying the foundation for Oregon's future Black communities.
Artist Jeremy Gregory’s mural installation in the Freedom of Expression Series II exhibit.
The third exhibit, "Freedom of Expression Series II," showcases the strength and range of visual artistic expression created by artists of African descent living in the Pacific Northwest.
Before returning home, the residents and Dakota stopped at the park adjacent to the Museum to enjoy a picnic lunch.
This allowed them to reflect and discuss each exhibit's breadth and historical significance, what they had learned about Seattle's African-American history, the different Northwest African-American artists and their work, and the various offerings in the residents’ culturally rich neighborhood.
To learn more about PHC and the services and programs we offer to end social isolation and housing instability for people living with mental illness, visit PHC (plyhc.org).