# data[].attributes.headline
How is this model different from current models? I hear about person-centered care and whole health all the time.

# data[].attributes.subject
How is this model different from current models? I hear about person-centered care and whole health all the time.

# data[].attributes.body
It's true, there is overlap between current models. However, although many of these organization mention community, whole health, and person-centered care, none of them include all of this paradigm. Additionally, none of them consider "whole health" to be more than an integration of physical and mental health care. The Africentricity paradigm emphasizes the metaphysical and community components as part of whole health.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Peninsula Behavioral Health started small but we are now recognized as Clallam County's primary resource for behavioral health and co-occurring disorder counseling. Last year our staff of 130+ provided care to over 3,000 of our local neighbors, including almost 900 children.

From childhood trauma to schizophrenia to acute crises to episodic depression, Peninsula Behavioral Health has the expertise and resources to treat residents who need care. Our clinical team includes mental health and substance use disorder experts, MDs, nurse practitioners (ARNPs), social workers, counselors, case managers and peer mentors. PBH recruits, trains and develops the highest quality professional team. Our staff have earned their reputation as dedicated, caring professionals within the community.

We believe that everyone deserves access to quality, comprehensive behavioral health care. PBH is primarily funded through a combination of State and Federal dollars. In addition, we depend on the generous support of individuals and community partners to bridge the gaps for underinsured patients. We are proud to make behavioral healthcare and therapy in Clallam County accessible to our community.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
About Us - Peninsula Behavioral Health - Therapy in Clallam County

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Peninsula Behavioral Health started small but we are now recognized as Clallam County's primary resource for behavioral health and co-occurring disorder counseling. Last year our staff of 130+ provided care to over 3,000 of our local neighbors, including almost 900 children.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Compass Health is Northwest Washington's behavioral healthcare leader. We integrate behavioral health and medical care services to support clients and communities when and where they need us.

Building on a century of experience, we are forging new, nationally recognized models of care that bring together highly skilled mental health professionals, primary care providers, peer counselors and others to treat the whole person.

We address complex healthcare needs in partnership with first responders and other community organizations, and form a key section of the community safety net to serve our clients and others who need our care and support.

From comprehensive mental health treatment to crisis prevention and intervention, supportive housing, children's services, community education and much more, our non-profit organization serves people of all ages throughout Snohomish, Skagit, Island, San Juan, and Whatcom counties.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
About Us on Compass Health | About Us Compass Health's mission is to advance behavioral health in Snohomish, Skagit, Island, San Juan, and Whatcom counties Compass Health is Northwest Washington's behavioral healthcare leader. We integrate behavioral health and medical care services to support clients...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) provides integrated services including housing, emergency shelter, crisis intervention and healthcare to thousands of homeless and formerly homeless people every day. ​

We fight for public resources and policies that serve our most vulnerable and marginalized neighbors: those living with mental illness, substance use disorders, and other disabilities. We believe that everyone deserves the space to exist and a place to call home.​

DESC meets people wherever they are and accepts them as they are.

We are a national pioneer, innovator, and leader in the Housing First movement. Housing First is now the dominant service approach promoted in national policy. We innovate and challenge convention until we find what works, and then measure, evaluate and share what we've learned as widely as possible. ​

Mission

DESC works to end the homelessness of vulnerable people, particularly those living with serious mental illnesses or substance use disorders. Through partnerships and an integrated array of comprehensive services, treatment and housing, we give people the opportunity to reach their highest potential. At DESC, uncommon efforts produce uncommon results that eliminate homelessness, one person at a time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
About DESC The Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) provides integrated services including housing, emergency shelter, crisis intervention and healthcare to thousands of homeless and formerly homeless people every day. ​ We fight for public resources and policies that serve our most vulnerable and marginalized neighbors: those living with mental illness, substance use disorders, and other disabilities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Lives reclaimed. Hope restored.

At Navos, we offer a healing home for children, young people and adults who might be underserved, overlooked or otherwise at risk of falling through the cracks. We're often the last hope for people with nowhere else to turn. We believe in recovery, and that each person has the potential to live a full and healthy life. Our mission is to transform the quality of life for people vulnerable to mental illness and substance use disorders by providing a broad continuum of care. We believe that diversity, inclusion and equity are vital to living our values and achieving our mission. That translates to dozens of innovative varieties of treatment, healing and support for a diverse range of King County residents, many of whom live in poverty, most because of their mental illness or substance use disorder. It means care for adults. Care for kids. Care for the homeless, for those traumatized by violence, and for those whose mental illness or addiction has robbed them of the promise of a full life.

Passionately patient-centered

Our services begin with compassion and with a desire to hear our client's stories. We ask, "What's happened to you?" rather than "What's wrong with you?," knowing that our client's experiences often hold the key to their recovery. Our work is grounded in the latest behavioral-health science, and delivered by experts who are passionate about their work, often because their own lives have been shaped in some way by a relative or friend someone with mental illness. We understand that being culturally competent and aware is to be respectful and inclusive of the beliefs and attitudes, healing practices, and cultural and linguistic needs of the different groups we serve. As behavioral health practitioners, we embrace that cultural competence must be a guiding principle, so that services are culturally sensitive and provide culturally appropriate prevention, outreach, assessment and intervention.

Focused on recovery

We believe all people with a mental illness or substance use disorder can lead meaningful lives and successfully manage their illnesses, and we provide treatment tailored for each client's particular needs. For one person, that might mean helping them understand their medication and develop coping strategies. For another, it could mean connecting them to housing or a job. We believe every one of our clients, regardless of their situation, should have as much control of their lives as their illness allows. We work closely with clients to develop their individual goals and treatment plan; even the most seriously ill clients participate in their own care.

More than mental health

Because people with mental illness and addiction statistically die decades sooner than the general population-mostly from untreated and preventable chronic disease-we were one of the first mental health treatment providers in the nation to provide "integrated care," combining general health care with treatment for mental illness and addiction. For thousands of King County residents, Navos is a "health care home" where they receive primary care as well as treatment for their mental illness or addiction, coordinated and supported by our staff to ensure the best chance of a healthy outcome. And because we believe that every person deserves access to high-quality treatment and an opportunity to life a full life, we are committed to equity and inclusion in our services, in our workplace, and in our community.

Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission

Navos has earned the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission for Hospital and Behavioral Health Care Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with the Commission's rigorous safety and quality performance standards. The Gold Seal of Approval is a symbol that reflects Navos' commitment to providing safe and effective patient care. It was awarded after our organization voluntarily underwent a thorough evaluation of our services to demonstrate our commitment to excellence in providing quality behavioral health care services.

Our Values

We choose HOPE.

We embrace DIVERSITY.

We EMPOWER the individual.

We provide COMPASSIONATE CARE.

We do WHAT IS RIGHT.

We deliver COORDINATED SERVICES.

WE ALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO A QUALITY OF LIFE.

We are Navos.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At Navos, we offer a healing home for children, young people and adults who might be underserved, overlooked or otherwise at risk of falling through the cracks. We're often the last hope for people with nowhere else to turn. We believe in recovery, and that each person has the potential to live a full and healthy life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn more about Valley Cities Behavioral Health Care, a nonprofit healthcare organization, based in King County Washington. Valley Cities provides treatment, recovery and support services to people struggling with substance use and mental health challenges.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Our Mission

To strengthen our community and improve the lives of our clients by delivering excellent health and human services tailored to meet their needs.

Our Vision

To provide effective and innovative whole health care for the people and community we serve.

Core Values

Respect for the uniqueness and cultural differences of each individual.

Excellence in the quality of our services.

Sustainability through good stewardship of our resources.

Partnering with clients, organizations, and agencies.

Encourage healthy life choices.

Commitment to our standard of excellence.

Teamwork and collaboration both internally and externally.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our Mission To strengthen our community and improve the lives of our clients by delivering excellent health and human services tailored to meet their needs. Our Vision To provide effective and innovative whole health care for the people and community we serve. Core Values Respect for the uniqueness and cultural differences of each individual.

# data[].attributes.body
Akbar, N. (1984).
Africentric Social Sciences for Human Liberation. Journal of Black Studies, 14(4), 395-414.

Mazama, A. (2001). The Afrocentric Paradigm: Contours and Definitions. Journal of Black Studies,31(4), 387-405.

Williams, T. (2019, March 13). The Evergreen State College. Retrieved June 04, 2020, from https://historylink.org/File/20740

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On September 26, 1983, The Evergreen State College's Tacoma Program holds the first day of classes as an official part of The Evergreen State College. This first day follows the Council for Post-Secondary Education's approval in 1982 of the college's recognition of the Tacoma Outreach Program as an official campus of Evergreen State College. The program had its beginning in 1972, when founder Maxine Mimms (b. 1928) overheard some justifiably frustrated residents of Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood complaining about access issues with Evergreen's main campus in Olympia. Mimms, a black professor at Evergreen, started Evergreen's Tacoma campus to address the unequal access to higher education for black working adults in Tacoma's inner city. The program is officially incorporated into The Evergreen State College for the 1983 school year. It will go on to become an anchor institution and gathering place in the Hilltop neighborhood.
Evergreen Tacoma Origin
The Evergreen State College's Tacoma campus came about because Mimms understood the Olympia campus could not meet the needs of Tacoma's black students, largely because of its distance from their homes. Mimms lived in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood and could see the barriers black Tacomans experienced in accessing higher education programs. Mimms, who had previously worked at the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., had recently returned to Washington state and started teaching at Evergreen State College.

Mimms later remembered, after realizing that the Olympia campus would be mostly inaccessible to people in the black community, deciding that she "was not going to come from Washington, D.C., and being in the south and participate in education that was totally white oriented ... I just said no. So I started in my kitchen teaching black students and went from there" (Eisenbacher, 6-7). Mimms, along with her neighbor and coworker Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Diffendal, offered classes in her home through Evergreen as a Tacoma seminar group. Within Evergreen, a seminar group was a group of students who looked at the material individually, then came together as a group to discuss it, bringing their own individual worldviews to the table.

In the beginning, the program operated in several locations. For the first four years, from 1972 to 1976, the program used space in Mimms's and Diffendal's homes. As more students enrolled, their kitchen tables were no longer large enough to accommodate everyone. Between 1975 and 1981, the program jumped from one location to another as numbers swelled. The program met at the Tacoma Urban League from 1975 to 1978, The Puyallup Tribal Center from 1978 to 1979, Tacoma Community House from 1979 to 1980, The Colored Women's Clubhouse in 1980, and the Tacoma Opportunities Industrialization Center in 1981.
Making It Official
In 1982, the Council for Post-Secondary Education recognized the Tacoma Seminar as an official campus of The Evergreen State College and Mimms was named as director. Occurring before the state's creation of official branch campuses of large universities throughout the state, the Evergreen expansion into Tacoma existed in new territory. The campus was recognized by Evergreen as an official "off-campus program center" for the 1983 school year ("Catalog 1983-84," 70). On September 26 of that year, the Tacoma campus held its first day of classes as an official Evergreen program center.

Before that first day of classes as an official campus, the program was either handled through independent contracts or posed as an Olympia program that just happened to be using Tacoma as its setting. For the first 15 years, Mimms had financed the program herself. Operating this way was an intentional strategy to get the Tacoma program established so it would flourish before being susceptible to outside influence. In 1984, the program was officially included in the Evergreen budget. Being officially recognized by Evergreen and the state required that Evergreen Tacoma downsize from a four-year program to an upper-division program for only juniors and seniors. State officials did not want to fund both Evergreen and Tacoma Community College providing lower-division coursework in such a small geographic area. They felt that Evergreen Tacoma would pull students away from Tacoma Community College if both offered lower-division coursework.

With all of the changes, the campus moved to a more permanent building. The new campus, located at K Street and S 12th Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Earnest S. Brazill Street), was home to the program for the next 18 years. Mimms stayed on as director of the program for the first eight years in the new location. In 1990, she retired and handed the campus down to her protege, Dr. Wintonnette Joye Hardiman (b. 1944).
Evergreen Tacoma Framework
Mimms loved the fact that social justice was central to the curriculum of Evergreen. Its interdisciplinary, intersectional approach to curriculum allowed for a deeper level of understanding in the classroom. Professors were able to think about their subject areas more creatively and learn about the subject areas of others. Students had more freedom within their learning and more tools and information with which to problem-solve in the classroom. Evergreen had no tests and no grades. Instead, instructors provided written evaluations at the end of each semester. Most classes were part of interdisciplinary, team-taught programs, even going so far as to complete math homework in groups. Mimms felt that for black adult learners, the curriculum and teaching framework needed to be expanded to address their unique needs.

While founding Evergreen Tacoma, Mimms was also working to complete her Ph.D. The two processes informed each other and created the underlying framework for Evergreen's Tacoma campus. The Tacoma Seminar served as more than just an additional seminar group beyond the ones available in Olympia -- the group was Mimms's dissertation research in action. Her framework for the campus built upon the experimental liberal-arts framework of the Olympia campus and tailored it to be culturally relevant for black adult learners. Mimms reworked the way liberal arts were taught to fit the needs of the population she was trying to reach.

In her dissertation, Mimms laid out her plan for the pedagogy at Evergreen Tacoma in the form of five impactful and pervasive ideas that intersected to create the teaching strategy. Those points were:

"The need to understand the psychological impact of their own history that causes them to observe themselves and internalize the blame for which they were not historically responsible,
"The need to understand the people they are afraid of - something of their history and psyche,
"The need to develop group identification as they begin to internalize the blame so they can effectively use their own political clout,
"The need to recognize the limitations of a B.A. degree; that is, earning a B.A. degree without understanding the content of the curriculum is dangerous, and earning a B.A. is no guarantee of intellectual growth; and,
"The need to recognize that within their own community there are people who think like Plato, paint like Picasso, and meditate like Buddha" (Washington, 28).

Mimms prioritized having black professors for the campus, but relied upon white professors, who she referred to as "placeholders," to educate the students until black professors up to her standards could be found. This helped students to grow in an environment in which they were already comfortable. Mimms used events and issues in the community and in people's lives to supplement and guide the curriculum. The Evergreen Tacoma Program centered around a process called "Lyceum." This process consisted of a presentation followed by "give back" and concluded with a discussion about the presentation and the weekly reading in smaller seminar groups. The entire campus attended Lyceum in morning or afternoon sessions. The "give back" process followed presentations in the Lyceum Hall. The audience gave the presenter a round of applause followed by positive feedback. This was meant both to convey how much the presentation meant to the students and staff and to build a culture of community into the framework of the program. Mimms saw the value in giving people who have not traditionally received applause an opportunity to have their genius recognized.

While modeled after the Olympia campus's pedagogy, the way that Evergreen Tacoma instituted learning communities was very different. For example, while the Olympia campus had multiple programs, Evergreen Tacoma had only one. This developed a different type of community cohesiveness, interdependence, and collaboration than typical for Olympia campus programs. The program themes changed every year but always centered around the intersections of community development with leadership, transformation, and sustainability. Students engaged in a year-long research project in teams. Each quarter was designed to build on the work of the last. The teams presented their research at Spring Fair, essentially a science fair for community-centered research, held at the end of the academic year.

Evergreen Tacoma's culture also differed from that of the Olympia campus. While the overarching Evergreen motto is "Omnia Extares" ("Let It All Hang Out" in Latin), the Tacoma campus adopted a motto of "Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve." Evergreen's mascot is a geoduck, but the Tacoma campus prominently featured the Adinkra symbol of Sankofa as its logo instead. The Sankofa bird symbolized the "importance of learning from the past" (Williams). The program was aimed at working adults, and they were required to be enrolled fulltime. Evergreen's Tacoma Program was very intentionally designed to serve and reflect the population of the Hilltop neighborhood.
Evergreen Tacoma Legacy
Continued growth necessitated that the campus move yet again in 2000. The new campus, located at 6th Avenue and South M Street, was originally constructed in 1974 for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and occupied an entire city block. The building was remodeled and an addition was added before the campus occupied the space. The interior of the new building was modeled after temples in Kemet, now known as Egypt, that functioned as both libraries and universities. It was designed anthropomorphically. Joye Hardiman described the common area as "the womb of the campus," the practice of Lyceum as "a ritual of the heart," and the professor's offices and support services around the perimeter of the Lyceum hall as "arms wrapped around the heart represent[ing] the ever-presence of the nurturance of the environment" (Washington, 56).

The summer after occupying the building, the campus received a Paul Allen Foundation grant for the creation of an exterior building mural. South African Ndebele artists came to the community and lived there for a month. During that time, they completed the mural -- the Ndebele Wallpainting Project -- and taught the community about their history, inspiration, craft, and insight into communicating with symbols. The mural represents the values of the Tacoma program and it established a sense of ownership of the space and encouragement of creativity that had not historically been embraced for the Hilltop community.

The Tacoma campus was the first college in the area to focus its pedagogy toward black students. It was committed to the success of black adult learners and the success of the neighborhood. Mimms believed that stimulating and motivating individuals would have the same benefits for the community around them. With more than 2,700 degrees granted to date, the impact of the Tacoma campus of The Evergreen State College is beyond measure. In November 2015, Evergreen purchased the Tacoma campus building it had rented for 14 years, showcasing to the community that Evergreen Tacoma was here to stay. In 2018, the Lyceum Hall, which Hardiman referred to as the "womb of the campus," was renamed the Dr. Maxine Mimms & Dr. W. Joye Hardiman Lyceum Hall in their honor.

Sources:

Anya Kamenetz, "This College for Adult Learners Is a Refuge, Not Just a Career Boost," July 4, 2018, NPR website accessed January 19, 2019 (https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/07/04/616778773/this-college-for-adult-learners-is-a-refuge-not-just-a-career-boost); "Catalog 1983-84," The Evergreen State College website accessed February 17, 2019 (http://archives.evergreen.edu/1972/1972-02/1983-1984.pdf); "Evergreen: Making History Since 1967," The Evergreen State College website accessed January 19, 2019 (https://www.evergreen.edu/about/history); "Program History," The Evergreen State College website accessed January 15, 2019 (https://www.evergreen.edu/tacoma/history); Jean MacDonald, "Sankofa," West African Wisdom: Adinkra Symbols & Meanings website accessed November 17, 2018 (http://www.adinkra.org/htmls/adinkra/sank.htm); Kim Elaine Washington, "The Legacy of Two African American Women in College Administration: Maxine Buie Mimms and Wintonnette Joye Hardiman: A Look Back to Go Forward" (Ph.D. diss., Oregon State University, October 30, 2008); Lois Elfman, "Unconventional Approach Propels Evergreen State College," July 20, 2016, Diverse Issues in Higher Education (https://diverseeducation.com/article/85588/); Lori Larson, "Maxine Mimms: 'My Life is Education,'" Washington Secretary of State website accessed March 4, 2019 (https://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/legacy/sixty-eight/maxine-mimms-profile.pdf); "Recent Sales Activity for 2006240034" Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer website accessed January 28, 2019 (https://epip.co.pierce.wa.us/CFApps/atr/ePIP/sales.cfm?parcel=2006240034); Robin Eisenbacher, "An Interview with Dr. Maxine Mimms Ph. D.: Building a Learning Community in Tacoma's Hilltop Neighborhood," May 7, 2014, Tacoma Community History Project, chp2014-04, University of Washington Libraries, Tacoma, Washington; "1210 Sixth Ave, Tacoma," Tacoma Public Library Tacoma-Pierce County Buildings Index accessed January 29, 2019 (http://cdm17061.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p17061coll1/id/94845/rec/10); Tera Williams, "Black in the City: Equity-Centered Community Design in Tacoma's Hilltop" (master's thesis, Boston Architectural College, December 21, 2018), 63-65.

Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.

Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided By: The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins | Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry | 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle | City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private Sponsors and Visitors Like You

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On September 26, 1983, The Evergreen State College's Tacoma Program holds the first day of classes as an official part of The Evergreen State College. This first day follows the Council for Post-Secondary Education's approval in 1982 of the college's recognition of the Tacoma Outreach Program as an official campus of Evergreen State College.

# data[].attributes.body
1. Places of worship.

2. Community colleges and universities

3. GED Programs and high school graduation support.

4. Primary Care

5. Other organizations that provide classes and groups, such as art, music, exercise, and cooking.

# data[].attributes.body
1. Intakes include open-ended questions to allow those seeking services to tell their stories and the important parts of them in their own way (Value Four).

2. Intakes include a section asking about on spirituality and/or religious beliefs and supports (Value Two).

3.Clients serve on advisory boards (Values one, four, and six).

4. All staff  trained by the agency in providing person-centered services, meaning clients will be viewed as the experts on their own needs and experiences (Value Four). Part of this is “assuming positive intent” (Value Three)

5. Weekly community events to encourage group socialization and interpersonal relationships. There will be a rotating group of clients who will help plan these (Values one and six)

6. Case managers will be encouraged to set up transportation for clients with disabilities to attend church, synagogue, or other spiritual gatherings, along with the normal rides to the doctor's office, etc. (Value one, two, five, and six).

7. Groups are viewed as just as important as individual services (Values one and six).

8. Weekly group case consults (values one, six, and four).

9. A straightforward communication system for case managers to make referrals to other programs, classes, etc. run by community partners (Values one and six).

# data[].attributes.body
The Africentric paradigm includes the following values:

1. Collectivism.

2. Spirituality.

3. Human beings are good.

4. Knowledge gained through experience is just as valuable as knowledge gained through science or other formalized means.

5. Harmonious co-existence with nature

6. Interpersonal interaction is the most important part of life.

# data[].attributes.body
To provide flexible, culturally relevant community events, classes, education, mental health, and health care in partnership with community organizations, all under one roof.

# data[].attributes.body
Engaging mind, body, spirit, and community through person-centered whole-health care.