Alternative healing to be offered July 3

Date: 6/28/2011

June 29, 2011

By Debbie Gardner

Assistant Editor

WEST SPRINGFILD — When Kristen Avonti drove through the damaged areas of her hometown a few days after the June 1 tornado, she knew she had to do something to help the people affected by the storm’s devastation.

“It hit me in a really intense way,” Avonti told Reminder Publications. “I felt like I had a very big call to give something back.”

The herbalist and energy healer who works at Karma — a vegan restaurant and holistic health center in Northampton — immediately established a donation table at work.

But, Avonti said, “That didn’t seem to be enough.”

She started thinking about what else she could do to support all the people affected by the tornado — the first responders, the police and firemen who had been working such long hours to assist residents, the emergency workers from the Red Cross, Salvation Army and other charitable organizations and of course, the people whose lives were disrupted by damage, injury and destruction.

“I thought, I’m a healer, so why don’t I heal everyone,” Avonti said.

She began circulating an e-mail through the various groups she belonged to, asking for volunteers to help her set up a community day of healing for her hometown. Within a week, 25 practitioners from a variety of healing arts had volunteered their time.

On July 3 from noon to 5 p.m., Avonti will bring all of these healers together in the second floor auditorium of the Municipal Building, 26 Central St., to offer their services to anyone who has been affected by the tornado. She said Mayor Edward Gibson has generously allowed her and her practitioners to use the space at no cost on that afternoon.

“There’s going to be massage therapists and Reiki practitioners,” Avonti said. “I’ve also got some sound healers, acupuncturists and there’s going to be some mental health practitioners offering individual and group support.”

All of the services will be provided free of charge on a first-come, first served basis, with no appointments necessary, she said.

“The two main groups I’m targeting are the first responders ... and the people who lost their homes ... the people who were really, deeply affected by the tornado,” Avonti said. “But it’s definitely open to the whole community because I feel it affected us all.”

Debbie Gardner can be reached by e-mail at debbieg@thereminder.com