There are places where words run out: shelters, classrooms, community spaces, places where something needs to be expressed, explored, or simply held. I go there with movement, art, walking, breath, sound, silence, and everything I’ve learned through years of exploring, practicing, and discovering what helps, both for myself and in working with others. I listen, adapt, and draw on what I’ve learned in ways that meet what is needed.

Not everyone arrives in crisis. Some simply want to shift something in their lives. Either way, the work begins with what is already there: curiosity, experience, memory, questions, and the possibility of change. It doesn’t begin with talking or explaining. It begins by creating enough safety and space for people to notice what they already know, and discover what might be possible next.

“I am very particular about who works with the often-vulnerable individuals we serve, and have
complete faith in Althea in all areas.”

— Yvonne Jack, Founder, Xhastin’s Healing Journey; Member, Taku River Tlingit First Nation

That trust shows up differently depending on where the work is needed.

The work has taken place with women and children leaving violent homes, people navigating mental health challenges, substance use or housing instability, and people looking for something different in their lives.

The work creates room to care for ourselves, name what’s difficult without having to explain everything, and find ways of moving forward that can be carried beyond the session. Mostly, it helps people reconnect with what they already know and build from there.

“She created a space of openness, caring and safe expression in a challenging environment,
resulting in tools for real change.”

— Gloria Johnston, Whitehorse Correctional Centre

Sometimes what’s carried beyond the session travels further than one room. Some invitations aren’t organized at all someone experiences the work, brings it home, and gathers their own community to receive it.

A weekly walking group for women and children carrying grief and the effects of gender-based violence, bringing gentle movement, nature, art, laughter, and conversation through parks, ravines, and city streets. We walked and talked, noticing what was around us, exchanging stories, and finding moments of connection and joy.

The LOVE Walk, raising awareness around gender-based violence through simultaneous walks in cities across the country, each led by someone committed to bringing the conversation into their own community.

Parkdale Community Walking Group
Connecting our community in wellness and experiences, one step at a time

A weekly neighbourhood walking group created in Parkdale, an underserved community, to bring people together, reduce isolation and encourage a deeper connection with our shared urban environment. We explored parks, streets, community gardens and local landmarks, noticing nature and the changing seasons along the way, while looking at art, participating in community cleanups, sharing resources, stories and laughter, and creating special gatherings throughout the year, including holiday celebrations, Seniors’ Day activities and a Jane’s Walk: A Church and Two Temples, exploring the history and cultural life of the neighbourhood. The group offered a simple way to get outside, meet neighbours, discover more of the place we called home and experience the pleasure of doing things together.

All three share a simple premise: moving through the natural world can change how we experience ourselves, one another, and the places we live. Sometimes a walk is enough to begin noticing what has been dfficult to reach while standing stil.

That same premise, that presence and movement can open something words can’t, carries into classrooms and training rooms as well.

Students, educators, community members, and people participating in mental health, peer support, and self-care programs have all experienced the work.

Sometimes it takes the form of a single session; sometimes it unfolds over weeks or months.

“I was really impressed, especially by how the difficult content was handled. It still needed
careful, professional facilitation to properly convey to the kids.”

— Karl Calhoun, Vice Principal

“I found it interesting to observe my inner world expressed in ways other than words, how
blockages dissolved through drawing, dance, sound.”

— Maja Bratuz, Nova Gorica, Slovenia

“Before, I worried a lot. After walking with Althea, I felt lighter.”

— Resident, Redwood Shelter

“Althea did a phenomenal job creating the LOVE Walk. It happened simultaneously in Paris, Whitehorse, Italy, New York, and Ottawa. She’s a special and magical woman, able to create truly comfortable spaces for people.”

— Sidrah Ahmad, Senior Coordinator, Gender-Based Violence Program

Since 2007, the work has traveled to:
Ottawa · Toronto · Montreal · New York · E!on · London · Paris · Ljubljana · Bled · Osaka · Nagoya · Melbourne · Kingston, Jamaica · Whitehorse

If you’re wondering whether this could work for you, your community, or your organization, get in touch. We’ll have a conversation and figure out what’s possible.