In 2023, Sacred Lotus Holistic Wellness (formerly Blue Nile Massage and Wellness) received an $8,000 grant from CUA’s Community Investment Grant Program to deliver an eight-week health and self-care program to BIPOC and other marginalized communities, aiming to alleviate pressures around healthcare and empowering individuals to take control of their health through education. We caught up with owner Fantanesh Attomsa to learn more about Sacred Lotus Holistic Wellness and to hear about the program’s impact.

As a Registered Massage Therapist and former Continuing Care Assistant, Fantanesh Attomsa is familiar with preventative healthcare. She has witnessed first-hand how a lack of both knowledge and resources can have a lasting impact on marginalized communities, particularly when it comes to preventing illnesses.

Fantanesh explains that she started her practice after noticing a lack of Black practitioners. “Because of that, there weren’t very many Black people in our community that were taking advantage of health and wellness benefits. There are so many barriers, whether it's cost, transportation, a lack of representation, accessibility, education, or just knowledge of the resources.”

Sacred Lotus Holistic Wellness offers programs based in ancient and ancestral holistic wellness practices. Recently, they’ve shifted focus towards community programming events. Creating a barrier-free wellness program that represented the communities being served was key.

In 2023, Fantanesh applied to CUA’s Community Investment Grant Program with the goal of delivering an eight-week health and self-care program to BIPOC and other marginalized communities. She was chosen as a recipient, receiving $8,000 to go towards implementing the Healthy & Wealthy: Community Wellness Program.

Describing the moment that she answered the phone to discover she had received a grant, Fantanesh says, “I feel like I screamed and cried. That was our first grant that we ever received. It was really validating to have that, and that people see value in in what we're doing.”

In a province with such “beautiful and abundant historically Black communities,” accompanied by a “long history of systemic racism and oppression,” Fantanesh points out the deep-seated hurt and mistrust which can make it difficult for some to find and trust a healthcare practitioner. Explaining the importance of representation, she points out, “There’s a different level of trust when you see somebody that looks like you, that understands so many things that just don't need to be said.”

When planning the program, the next question Fantanesh considered was how do I make the space more inclusive for people that look like me?

“What I really decided to do was create this initiative, this program, where we're taking down some of these barriers. So, it's free to the community. You don't have to worry about transportation. You don't have to worry about childcare costs and things like that. We are bringing everything to you and we're exposing folks to different wellness options, more holistic options. And the best thing about it was that all of our practitioners were Black.”

Through a range of initiatives, including workshops, accessible healthcare resources, community events, and advocacy efforts, Sacred Lotus created a platform for education, engagement, and proactive health habits. Program attendees learned about and adopted practices around a range of health topics, including holistic nutrition, chiropractic care, meditation, mental health care, fall prevention, and informed consent.

“The results we have achieved together are truly remarkable,” Fantanesh explains. “Participants in our program have increased their health awareness, reported feeling empowered and equipped with knowledge, and made positive strides towards healthier lifestyles.”

Feedback from participants shows that, across the board, they loved the program. It’s also been a hit with other health and wellness practitioners. “We’ve developed this amazing network since then that keeps growing, [including a] huge network of all of all Black practitioners now, which is incredible.”

Of the impact of CUA’s grant, she tells us that “By investing in this initiative, CUA has helped bridge the gap in healthcare and create a proactive support system for those who need it most.”

While some attendees dropped into a handful of sessions, Fantanesh notes a ‘core group’ that came every single week. She says seeing the strong community relations shared by those in the program made it hard to see it end.

In response to this newfound community, Fantanesh says she was inspired to start ‘Wellness Nights’ out of her own pocket. “We have no grant funding for this,” she says. “But just because the relationships were really built and it was so reciprocal, like the practitioners fell in love with the participants just as much as the participants fell in love with the practitioners, we all said, ‘do you want to do this again?’”

In October they began again with a six-week, basic wellness night. And, having recently received a new grant from the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia, Sacred Lotus will begin a Black mental health and wellness program in the new year.

Continued support in this way is important, Fantanesh explains, especially when you want to build ongoing relationships and trust in healthcare, to not be a ‘one and done’ situation. In addition to maintaining trust, there’s an opportunity to expand, explore, and eventually engage with more Black communities.

Long-term, Fantanesh says she would love to host a wellness retreat. “A lot of folks from these marginalized communities, they have never had a wellness retreat, or they've never gone away and had a couple of days that are strictly dedicated to their health and wellness. That’s something that I definitely want to make happen.”

Speaking to the importance of accessibility of self-care in marginalized communities, Fantanesh says that there needs to be an intentionality when working with underrepresented groups.

“You need to show up. You need to stay engaged. You need to meet people where they're at and you need to listen. You can't just assume that you have the best idea and the best solution for groups. If you really have diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and policies, you have to be intentional. You have to create partnerships. You have to create spaces.”

You can learn more about Sacred Lotus Holistic Wellness, including the programs and services offered, at sacredlotusholisticwellness.com.

Our team at CUA is happy to have been able to help Fantanesh on her journey, and we look forward to supporting more organizations like Sacred Lotus Holistic Wellness through our Community Investment Grant Program in 2024. See other past grant recipients.