“To have real true health, especially from a nursing perspective, but really from a human perspective, we're mind, body, and spirit,” said Lisa DiCarlo, director of Healthcare is a Human Right. “You need to be healthy and whole in all aspects to really thrive, and so that's the mission and belief that we adhere to.”

DiCarlo has worked for Healthcare is a Human Right (HCHR) for about three years after 26 years as a nurse. HCHR is a non-profit that provides free holistic wellness in various clinics in the Mid-Hudson Valley, including Kingston, Woodstock and Phoenicia. They held one of their clinics, offering services such as massages, acupuncture and reiki healing on September 10 at 45 Pine Grove Avenue.

According to DiCarlo, their mission is in their name.

“Our founder Susan Weeks is the true maverick who was so concerned about people, especially before the [American Care Act], and wanted to make sure that everybody, regardless of who you are — your gender, your socio-economic status — could access quality healthcare,” DiCarlo said. “Some people have never been able to get a massage because they could never afford one. So we really strongly promote self-care and want to be available for everyone and uplift our community.”

All services are free and do not require proof of need, something that is made possible by donations and what DiCarlo calls a “stellar crew of super dedicated people” who offer health services and help manage the clinics — such as Joan Oldale-LaPoint, an administrator for the organization who was managing the flow of community members seeking services.

Before working for HCHR, Oldale-LaPoint was an elementary school music teacher, but always had “a foot in the alternative [healthcare] world” as a trained massage therapist. She began coming to HCHR clinics and noticed “things were a little crazy” at the front desk.

“I could tell they could use some help,” Oldale-LaPoint said. “I figured if I could keep 27 kindergartners focused for 40 minutes, I could fling folders.”

Oldale-LaPoint said that she has experienced firsthand the benefits from HCHR’s services, including acupuncture, which helped improve mobility in her arm, and what she described as a “profound” experience of reiki. While reiki is “purely energetic,” Oldale-LaPoint said stress can also be stored in the body, which the practice can help alleviate.

“When NASA was trying to send people to the moon, they sent people to study every aspect of a human being because they didn't know what was going to happen when they went into space, and the NASA scientists recognized that there is a body energy field,” Oldale-LaPoint said. “It's not concrete, so people have a harder time wrapping their heads around it.”

But while the benefits of more “alternative” practices like acupuncture have become more well known, Oldale-LaPoint said cost is a still a barrier.

“Depending on your insurance — if you have insurance — you might be able to get massage or acupuncture covered, but they're only going to be partial,” Oldale-LaPoint said. “Like with massage, you have to have an injury, and then they're only allowed to massage that arm. It's really stupid. I can say that from both sides.”

Beyond providing care, Oldale-LaPoint frequently engaged in conversation with the people she scheduled for services. One community member, Dylan Harduick, described the clinic as a family with “open-minded, caring” individuals. Oldale-LaPoint recounted a time where she lost her keys and phone, and everyone in the clinic helped her find it.

“We've had kids. We've had teenagers that come with their parents all the way up to senior citizens. So, it's everybody,” Oldale-LaPoint said. “We get to know people that are frequent flyers and just coming in, all kinds of conversations and friendships.”

HCHR posts times and dates for their clinics on its website, with services offered at a first-come first-serve basis. Their next scheduled clinic is in Phoenicia, September 22, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the United Methodist Church.