‘People have the ability to heal and to let go. Healers help you with that’

Jerry Tello regards himself as a healing practitioner, but the community has given him the title of “el maestro”. The building doesn’t have a sign in front, but co-founder Jerry Tello says “the people that need to be here, will be here.” The center was created to be a place for people to come together and heal through presentations by Indigenous elders, culturally based healing and meditation circles, life coaching and family counseling. This act of wanting to help others but facing the constraints of what’s acceptable in medical and mental health practices was a turning point in Tello’s service work as an adult. This research, his college background, his clinical work and his experience of the Chicano and civil rights movements in Los Angeles pushed him to “explore effective ways really healing, not just treating, not just intervening, not just medicating and diagnosing but truly healing our people.” California Working toward a culture that ‘values empathy, diversity and interdependence’ Therapists ask clients to consider the systemic forces that are contributing to their mental health struggles and then work to empower them to do something about it. Since the creation of the organization, Tello has given keynote speeches, received awards written children’s books and the book “Recovering Your Sacredness,” a guide to embracing traditions and wisdom — found in many cultures — that can help people return to their “sacred purpose.