About Us
The Wellness Collective currently serves in Allegheny County, PA and brings neighbors together around a shared mission: to restore and maintain power and interdependence in our communities by way of mutual aid.
Mutual aid is a great way to build resilience, foster a sense of community, and create a culture of caring and collective responsibility. It helps us to share resources and support each other when we need it most. Mutual aid can provide financial relief, emotional support, and access to services that may otherwise not be available. It can help to build stronger relationships among members of a community, while also helping individuals to become more self-sufficient. Mutual aid can also provide a platform for advocacy and collective action, enabling people to raise awareness and work together to bring about positive change.
As neighbors, our interests are shared. We support one another in moments of difficulty, and, through this, we sustain our community as a whole. In the spirit of solidarity, The Wellness Collective collaborates with people who are experiencing crises to develop effective solutions that mitigates need. Our aim is to restore stability and strengthen resiliency. We do this by listening to our neighbors, facilitating local resource collection and redistribution, and improving accessibility to services. Our model is designed to offer practical solutions, so we, as a community, are empowered to respond to one another’s needs. It facilitates relationships of respect and mutual aid. Standing side by side and reclaiming our unified power, The Wellness Collective reimagines what is possible when society places its people at the center.
How it Works
Neighbors become members of the collective and agree to pay whatever monthly amount that they feel comfortable with. Wellness providers are made available to our neighbors seeking support. Neighbors who reach out to The Collective are connected to the appropriate provider(s) or approved for an agreed upon monetary payment through The Collective.
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Guidelines
Funds are made available for services and supports that aid in the establishing and re-establishing of basic needs as defined by Maslow.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need is the theory of psychological motivation that outlines five major areas of our lives that must be stabilized in order for us to be healthy and successful. The lower tiers (deficiency needs) must be satisfied before the upper-most (growth needs) can be achieved. We should note that we do not support nor do we believe in the bigotry and ablism that Maslow framed much of his work around. The hierarchy of need is simply a tool for guidance with understanding that it is as imperfect as the creator.
Funding
Funding for The Collective will be raised through foundation dollars, fundraisers, social enterprise, and memberships.
Funding Distribution
All incoming funding will be allocated and disbursed through the Community Bank and assigned to a specific branch or “general.”
Needs-Based Providers
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Mental Health
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Physical Health
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Socialization/Community Health
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Food/Nutrition
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Safety/Security
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Housing
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Clothing
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Toiletries/Hygiene
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Etc.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Need
FOUNDER
The Wellness Collective is a love project created by Shanon Williams, a long time social worker, activist, and advocate. Over the past 10+ years, Shanon has dedicated herself to the people in the Greater Pittsburgh Area. Shanon has raised thousands of dollars for individuals and families in need, supported and created opportunities for countless people. It has been through this heart work that she came to realize need is a matter of access, not availability.
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"The resources and support needed is available - we just have to be intentional about helping our fellow neighbors as we would want to be helped ourselves." --Shanon Williams
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The Wellness Collective is an act of love and intentionality.
Some Of Her Work
Board of Advisors
Andre Scott, MSP
Able Vision , LLC
The collective is valuable because it is formed based on the desire to assist others which will lead to holistic growth for all involved.
It connects the needs of the community directly to resources with the intent to empower as opposed to carry.
The multiple levels of support and various providers will ensure the person is able to feel heard, not just serviced.
Tammy Thompson
Circles Greater Pittsburgh
I find the Wellness Collective valuable because staying connected to families and being aware of the needs and crises they endure is important to me. We’ve been looking for additional ways to directly support families in need and we believe collaborating with the Wellness Collective is a great way to do it.
Alyssa Cypher, MPAInside Our Minds
As a community, thinking about how we can organize and support each other through mutual aid is vital. The Wellness Collective offers an amazing safety net to anyone who is going through a difficult time and could benefit from support, connection, and care.
Martyia McCrayLRC Janitorial, LLC
Support services like The Wellness Collective helps to strengthen our communities. Unfortunate life events are inevitable. A helpful hand in these moments can help to keep the people of our communities from devastating life altering decisions, give kids a sense of security, and provide a foundation for people who feel their world is crashing in on them.
Pierce Robinson
I think the collective is critical because it streamlines the process of providing help and resources to some of our neighbors in situations where time is of the essence.
Sarah Cook
I believe in The Wellness Collective because the system is designed to keep folks down, financially. The Wellness Collective is not going to expect a "good" credit score, or be a predatory lender. It's folks helping other folks out when in need.
Dana Bishop-RootBraddock Carnegie Library Association
The Wellness Collective organizes and coordinates the heart work of mutual aid, and our desire to support, protect and love each other. We all need. And we all have the capcity to give. Collectively, the power to meet each others needs is a life giving and sustaining practice of how we get through the days even when the fire is burning and the sorrow is an ocean.