This July 4th, 2015, the Boston-based nonprofit, HandReach, is bringing trauma survivors of all walks of life together for a day and a night of hope and healing. The daytime event, Healing Hands, will offer those who’ve experienced all types of trauma –from combat service to domestic violence — a chance to try out healing modalities perhaps previously unheard of. Practitioners will offer everything from tai chi, to chair yoga, to animal therapy, to myofascial release, to aromatouch technique, to sound healing, to animal therapy, and much much more.

By night, the Somerville Armory will light up with a new kind of July 4th celebration — what HandReach is calling “Indoor Fire Works,” a light show and dance party for PTSD survivors ready to enjoy the evening in an explosive-free zone. “This will be a cool, fun, beautiful, inspiring environment for trauma survivors to come together and enjoy themselves away from the explosions going on all around us on the 4th of July,” event organizer Brecken Chinn says.
Brecken is launching the event for the first time this year with inspiration from both her severely burn-injured daughter from China, and her beloved uncle, a combat veteran still in federal prison after a breakdown from being overmedicated. “Every Fourth of July was excruciating for us — too hot outside for burn survivors to enjoy, and potentially terrifying for folks injured by explosives.” The Veterans Administration estimates that approximately 8% of the US population suffers from active PTSD at any given time.
This year, HandReach is bringing light artists Guy Minnick and Douglas Pouliot to team up with healers and performers from around the Boston area to create a beautiful venue for trauma survivors, their friends, and family to celebrate the Fourth of July surrounded by comfort, safety, and supportive community.

Somerville Arts at the Armory
191 Highland Ave
Somerville,MA
9 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Healing Hands Daylong Event      $100.00
Includes breakfast, lunch, day & evening events!