Backspace Wellness Collective

Vision

The Backspace Wellness is a worker-owned wellness network providing an array of accessible, responsive, safe care, while elevating neighbors, diverse communities and Oakland activists. Guided by an ethics of decolonization and of difference, we believe that self-care and community access to wellness resources is a radical act.

We encourage organizations and individuals committed to making our city a more just, livable place to care for themselves and go about their work in a sustainable way. We believe that abundance of resources is often linked to good health and that abundance is possible through proper relations, and so are mindful of the nuance of each relationship, gearing our exchanges towards this mutual benefit and mutual aid of persons, land, community/s. The Backspace Collective is also committed to facilitating a deepened, educated community of learners and teachers of the healing arts, and to explore in conversation what a healthy person, community and bioregion will look like, and how they are intertwined.

Mission

Backspace Wellness Collective, a collective within the OMNI Commons, is a worker-owned wellness collective encompassing a broad range of healing modalities to make opportunities available for healing, wellness, care and growth in the community.

We offer:

- Wellness center services via private practice(s).

- Regular donation-based clinics that provide wellness services to a diversity of populations from a range of economic backgrounds.

- Regular events, talks, panels, teach-ins and classes in our space to engage and empower the community on an educational and participatory level.

- Ongoing contemplative classes and workshops (e.g. meditation, yoga, martial arts, etc.)

Space

Backspace proposes to move into the ADA accessible Storage Area on the Shattuck Ave side (former TIL space), the small BDRM upstairs and the upstair Den (re: the Den - Backspace plans to offer this room part of the time as a Commons to other Omni collectives). See Appendix A.

Den:  Backspace is interested in the Den that overlooks La Commune (next to TIL’s upstairs office). We will use this room in a multi-purpose way: for use for yoga, martial arts, open affordable holistic clinic hours, meditation, wellness special events, etc. We will offer this room as a common space by reservation during the times when it is not reserved for Backspace use.

A public calendar that Backspace would be very happy to administrate would be set up for this room (alternately we can link to an existing calendar but just need more info on how to do so).

Small BDRM upstairs: We need one small, private room for use as a small studio space for practitioners, as well as for locked Backspace storage (which will include herbs and tinctures that must be locked and not available to the public).

ADA accessible Storage Area We envision this as a private ADA accessible clinic room for Backspace (for massage appts, etc, where the practitioner would need to lock the door behind them).

Governance/Structure

Backspace is a worker owned and operated collective. We make decisions via modified consensus. Membership is obtained through a vote by all the existing members.

We strive to be engaged with the larger Omni community and have been since the very first delegates meeting.

We  rotate our voting delegates monthly and routinely participate in working groups, other collectives, or other valuable projects relating to the Omni.

Financials

We would pay $1000 per month starting in October.

Backspace founder Andrew Lowe put forward $6000 to the Omni for Backspace in May 2014. This money was paid ahead as a commitment by Backspace to the Omni and vice versa. We would like to allocate that money in the following way:

$3000 for July Rent (first month, last month, deposit)

$1000 for Septemer

$1000 for October

$1000 for November

Our income will come from contributions from member practitioners. We plan to use our profits to help keep our free/donation based clinics sustainable.

Appendix A: Rooms