Allie Hershman: I actually wrote my thesis in grad school on how anxiety and depression can be lessened and treated through movement. And we took all of this together, and we said we need to bring it to life and offer it to people. Even if just one person is impacted by this, we've done our job.
WSHU: That's Allie Hershman, a cofounder of Move To Heal, a wellness program that combines mental health counseling with nutrition and exercise to help people achieve long-term recovery from all of life's challenges. They partner with gyms in Connecticut and other states to offer free and subsidized services, as well as a welcoming space for everyone who needs it. Move to Heal member Chas Langford said the program also creates a supportive community.
Chas Langford: I've been in recovery for over 32 years, and I've done a lot of work on my addiction, but I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate the work I've been able to do on my mental health issues trauma, you know, since coming to move to heal, I was, I was thinking it was about my third meeting. I was sitting next to a family who had just lost their son to an overdose. They weren't, you know, in recovery themselves, but now they were because they were grieving, and they were there just trying to find answers or support. And they found it, you know, in Move To Heal. And on the other side of me was somebody who was there for anxiety, and there were plenty of addicts and alcoholics in the room, but I just realized that this is just a safe place. And, you know, it was huge for me.
AH: Move to Heal consists of a workout suitable for all fitness levels, whether you're an avid gym-goer or someone who hasn't been to the gym in a minute; that's totally fine.
WSHU: That's me. I'm in the second category, not the first one.
AH: Yes, well, we cater to everybody, and after the workout, we gather for a support meeting and go over just different topics that everyone can relate to, and it is magic what happens in those rooms. It's a beautiful thing.
WSHU: As a person who loves the arts, I know that music and movement have their own language. And your mission on your website is to enhance health for all, all individuals facing all forms of mental health issues, addiction, depression, other life challenges, by offering, I mean, you didn't even say this, free group exercise and, as you said, support meetings, nutritional coaching, mental health counseling and gym membership subsidized at some locations. So it sounds like a wonderful vision, wonderful mission. So, Allie, you're the cofounder. Who's the other founder? And can you tell me the story of how this came to be?
AH: Yeah, absolutely. So my background is in psychology. I am a licensed therapist, and my father, Ethan Hershman, and Colleen Delaney, our other co-founder, are the other two of us. We all came together, and we all have different backgrounds. I have a psychology background. My dad has a background. He's a little over 30 years in recovery from drugs and alcohol. And then Colleen has an incredible fitness background, and we wanted to blend all things together. Meaning, how can we merge mental health and physical health into one to create a one-size-fits-all type of workout program and support meeting afterwards?
WSHU: Just to clarify for a second, so your dad, 30 years in recovery, that's amazing. Was he personally finding that movement and exercise were helping him in his recovery? Was that the spark that drew this?
AH: Absolutely, so once he started in recovery, he started to get very serious about his fitness and his health, and he realized that fitness, going to the gym, having that community, going to therapy, having nutritional counseling, all of these different aspects were helping him stay sober day after day, month after month, year after year. I actually wrote my thesis in grad school on how anxiety and depression can be lessened and treated through movement. And we kind of took all of this together, and we said we need to bring this to life and offer this to people, and even if just one person is impacted by this, we've done our job, and we have anywhere between 2500 to 3000 people attending Move To Heal every single month across all of our four locations now, just four hears later.
WSHU: What locations do you serve?
AH: We're in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and we just opened our first location in Florida.
WSHU: Wow, are you part of a national movement, or did this originate with you, and is this yours?
AH: Yes, this originated with us, and we're hoping to expand it as much as we can.
WSHU: I do know that recently, you were here at Sacred Heart University, where our campus is and you do some work with college students. Is that true?
AH: Yes, we do. We hold meetings and workouts every week for students, faculty, and staff. And I cannot stress the importance of Move to Heal in a college campus, especially at that age, which can be a very vulnerable age, when people are attending college, and we have had tremendous success. So much so that we actually just started a Move To Heal program at the University of Rhode Island as well, because we're seeing such great success with the Move To Heal program on the Sacred Heart University campus.
WSHU: That's fantastic. All right, so I could talk to you about what you do and how you do it all day. People can get more information on your website, which is movetohealct.org. My second question is always, why you? Why does this matter to you? And you know, you may have answered that a little bit already, so I'll kind of lump that together with, like, what inspires you? What's the best advice you ever got, or a quote that sparked you? Is there anything you'd like to pass on as to why you do this work and what inspires you to keep going?
AH: I love the quote cracks are how the light gets in. And I think that if you go to a Move To Heal session, and you do the workout and you are sweating next to the person next to you. You're high-fiving, you're completing that, you're sitting down, you're allowing yourself to be vulnerable, to show some of those cracks that we all have. It's… sometimes it's just a nod across the room of someone seeing you and hearing you, or talking to you afterwards, or giving you feedback, or just a safe space to share what's on your mind and in your heart. It is so therapeutic. We have had people email us, come up to us, and say, Move To Heal. Has saved my life, and I'm sorry I get a little emotional even when I say that, because four years ago, when we started this, we just knew that this formula worked for us, for my dad, for myself, for Colleen, and the more people we can reach by doing interviews like this or talking about it or social media, whatever it may be, it could be a lifeline for somebody. So we're always trying to expand our reach, expand our impact, and I'm just really proud of what we've created and the community.
WSHU: A practical question, then I'm going to get to my last two questions. So, your services are where in Connecticut?
AH: We're in Brantford, New Haven. We're scattered throughout and we're at different CrossFit locations, Orange Theory. So any gym that has a group element to it is where we can host a Move To Heal.
WSHU: So if somebody says they live in New Haven, and many people with addiction and mental health issues don't have transportation. So, if they wanted to get involved, they would contact their local CrossFit gym. Or do they go to your website and figure it out from there?
AH: Yeah, the best thing is to go to movetohealct.org. It lists out all of our locations. If you have any questions, please email us, and we will be happy to correspond with you and provide the information you need to attend your first class. There's no need to sign up. You can just show up on the day and time that the class is being held.
WSHU: Okay? And then again, this is completely free for people.
AH: Completely free, yes. So the fitness class is completely free. The support meeting is free. There are subsidized gym memberships. We also offer free individual therapy with a licensed therapist, and a free 16-week nutritional program as well.
WSHU: Wow, that's amazing. How can others help you now? What? What are the ways that people can help Move to Heal?
AH: Yeah, so Move to Heal relies solely on donations to fund all of our services, and donating is a great way, but spreading the word is as well. We have different fundraisers that we do throughout the year, whether they're through Move to Heal or through the individual gyms. We do a ton on social media, just trying to share our message and get the word out. So, even sharing a post or sending it to a friend, we want to try to impact as many people as we can and get the program in front of anyone who really needs it.
WSHU: One of the reasons I wanted to do this series is because I do believe that, given the opportunity, most people are really good at heart. Not 100% but a good percentage. And I've always found that given the opportunity and being shown how to help, people will help. I think that's why GoFundMes can be so successful. Sometimes people just don't know how to be a helper. So that background is my last question. Why do you think we are here on Earth?
AH: That is such a great question. And I think we're here on earth to help each other, to be safe spaces for each other, and to help one another become the best versions of ourselves so we can live the most fulfilling lives.
WSHU: I love that. I'm getting such interesting answers to that question. Allie Hershman, thank you so much for joining today and sharing Move to Heal's website so you can help, donate, volunteer, and find out more about it. Move To Heal, and once again, thank you so much for sharing your insight and your love and your stories with us today.
