By Caitlin Babcock Staff writer, Ryan Lenora Brown Staff writer, Ish Mafundikwa Special contributor
21 Feb, 2025
Outside the Bernice Elizabeth Fonteneau Wellness Center in Petworth, a historically Black neighborhood in Washington, D.C., bundled-up passersby swerve around piles of melting slush. But the small room on the center’s third floor radiates warmth. “So happy you’re here,” reads the mat on the doorway, welcoming visitors into the softly lit space.
Inside, on what looks to be a park bench covered in throw cushions, Angela Jasper offers free, informal talk therapy sessions, creating what she calls a “safe, nonjudgmental space” for people to unburden themselves.
On the other side of the world, by a public clinic in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, Shelter Nhengo has a bench, too. “Sometimes all one needs is someone to talk to,” she says.