Community Corner highlights the work of Seattle Human Services’ community partners in their own words. Our goal is to gather stories and photos that illustrate their amazing work on behalf of the people of Seattle. This post focuses on the Tubman Center for Health and Freedom, a multifaceted healthcare system designed specifically to meet the health needs of communities of color and other marginalized groups.
In this blog post, Tubman Health Senior Program Manager Felicia Ishino describes how the HSD-funded Black Elders Wellness (BE Well) program makes wellness accessible and culturally appropriate for Black elders, caregivers, and adults with disabilities in Seattle and King County. Developed in partnership with HSD’s Aging & Disability Services division, BE Well includes primary care, whole person wellness opportunities, community gatherings, and wraparound resource coordination.
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When was your organization founded, and what role does it fill in the community?
The Tubman Center for Health & Freedom was founded in 2020 by six Black, Native, and queer community members to build a new healthcare model that centers medically marginalized communities. Founded during the intersecting pandemics of racism and COVID-19, we knew we could not go back to business as usual.
Our organization is molded after our namesake Ms. Harriet Tubman, who was an abolitionist, healer, and nurse in the Union Army. We follow her approach of addressing the systems that make people unwell while also advancing individual healing and wellbeing.
Rooted in Seattle, we are proud to offer a homegrown solution that offers care that addresses whole-person health – this means creating the conditions for our communities to thrive physically, mentally, and emotionally. Our model of care brings clinical services, community connection, holistic healing, community-directed research, policy, and community organizing together under one model that wraps around our patients and families.
What is the BE Well program, and what services does it include?
The Black Elders Wellness (BE Well) program is an example of Tubman Health’s responsiveness to community need. In partnership with HSD’s Aging and Disability Services, we deliver culturally responsive care, health navigation, and social support specifically designed for Black elders, caregivers, and adults with disabilities across Seattle and King County.
Through BE Well, we create opportunities for community members to engage in wellness activities, build relationships, and access resources that support healthy aging and overall well-being. At its core, the program is about making wellness accessible, culturally responsive, and grounded in the strengths of our communities.
The BE Well program includes three focus areas: healthcare (allopathic and naturopathic primary care, visiting, nursing services, acupuncture, massage therapy); navigation and resources (care advocates, food boxes, prepared meals, family caregiver support); and wellness and connection (community gatherings, fitness and movement, healthy aging support, and intergenerational cooking and gardening classes).
How has your organization grown or developed in recent years?
Since our founding in 2020, Tubman Health has grown from a community vision into a growing network of clinical care, wellness programming, research, and advocacy. We opened the Freedom Clinic (school-based health center at Rainier Valley Leadership Academy) in 2023 and the Healing House community clinic in 2024, expanding opportunities for community members to access care grounded in our Relational Medicine Model.
We have continued developing our approach through community engagement and research, learning directly from the people we serve about what meaningful, trustworthy healthcare looks like. Our work extends beyond individual services to include broader efforts to address systemic inequities in health care.
We are currently building the Tubman Health Center at the Rainier Beach light rail station, a major next step in this vision. The Center will bring primary care, behavioral health, traditional and complementary healing services, mammography, and community wellness spaces together under one roof. Our growth is about responding to need, building the infrastructure our communities deserve, and advancing the future our communities have always deserved.
How do residents access these services?
Community members can learn about Tubman Health’s services and programs by visiting our website or contacting with our team at bewell@tubmanhealth.org or (206) 973-0061.
We encourage community members to reach out to learn about available services, program eligibility, and how to get connected. We recognize that navigating health care can be difficult, so we aim to make the process as welcoming and accessible as possible. Our goal is to meet people where they are and help them find the care and support that best fits their needs.
What’s something that people in the community might not know about your organization?
Something people may not know about Tubman is how much we have had to fight for and advocate for everything we have built. From our earliest days, our growth has been driven by the determination of our team and community to create the kind of healthcare our people deserve. None of this has happened by accident. Every step forward has required persistence, collective action, and a deep belief in what is possible when we build together.
Through it all, we have remained firmly rooted in our guiding principles. Established at our founding, these principles continue to shape how we care for our patients and show up for our communities and ourselves. Our team revisits them regularly, and they are posted throughout our offices and clinics as a constant reminder of what we stand for.
Tell us an example of how an HSD-funded program or service impacted one of your clients or community members.
One of the most meaningful impacts we have seen is the excitement in our community around having access to holistic wellness and opportunities for connection. Loneliness and social isolation have been real challenges, particularly for our elders in the years since the pandemic. Programs like BE Well and Tubman Gatherings create opportunities for people to come together, build relationships, and engage in the practice of health beyond a traditional clinical setting.
Elders and caregivers alike are eager for spaces where wellness is something we practice together, where they can connect with others, and where their whole selves are welcomed and cared for.
For us, this is what community-centered health care looks like: not only treating illness, but creating opportunities for people to experience connection, belonging, and well-being. HSD’s support helps make that vision more accessible to the communities we serve.
What keeps your staff going during challenging times?
Our North Star keeps us going: the vision of the future we are building together and the knowledge that our communities deserve it. When the work gets challenging, we can look back at how much we have accomplished in a relatively short period of time and be reminded that we have what we need to keep moving forward.
Right now, we have a particularly powerful reminder right in front of us: the Tubman Health Center under construction in Rainier Beach. This is something we have been working toward since our earliest days, and now we can drive past the Rainier Beach light rail station and see it taking shape in real time.
Seeing that progress reminds us why we do this work. The challenges are real, but so is what we are building. We have come this far through collective determination, and we know there is so much more ahead of us.