{"id":6543,"date":"2019-12-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prd-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=6543"},"modified":"2023-06-26T21:59:25","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T21:59:25","slug":"onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Onward: The story behind Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital\u2019s art installation","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

By McKenna Ownby<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a stunning piece of artwork that hangs in the entryway of Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital. It\u2019s impossible to miss, not just because of its sheer size, but because of what it represents.<\/p>\n

The piece is 14 feet long, laid out in three woodcut panels. Next to it, there will soon be a plaque with a message from the artist. Part of it will read:<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing adrift among a sea of emotions is a lonely and drowning feeling, often with the feeling of no end in sight. This piece shows a boat as a safe place to navigate the darkness, and the moon represents the fact that there is light. No matter how far away it may seem, there is always light.\u201d<\/p>\n

These words belong to Peter Jacobsen. At just 19 years old, he\u2019s already made a name for himself as a talented Tacoma artist. He\u2019s designed and sold dozens of pieces made out of wood, glass, metal, paint and more \u2014 but this one was different. It\u2019s displayed in a place that was built to help others heal, and over the countless hours Jacobsen poured into bringing it to life, he went through a healing process of his own.<\/p>\n

Art is a form of expression for Jacobsen. Sometimes it\u2019s also a form of therapy. He\u2019s struggled with depression since he was in middle school. That\u2019s why there was no question in his mind when he was approached in August 2018 about creating an original piece that would be displayed inside Wellfound.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I heard it was going to go in a hospital for people struggling with mental illness, it really had a different kind of impact on me,\u201d he explains. \u201cI was 12 when I started having suicidal thoughts. I was going to therapy and doing other things to help me through it, but I found the only thing that really helped me feel at peace was my art.\u201d<\/p>\n

The construction of Wellfound was made possible through a partnership between MultiCare and CHI Franciscan, as well as support from community donors. The 120-bed hospital was built to address the overwhelming need for more inpatient psychiatric services in Pierce County.<\/p>\n

John Thoennes, associate project manager for Wellfound, was tasked with leading the art direction for the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal of the art program wasn\u2019t just to find art,\u201d Thoennes explains. \u201cIt was to develop community relationships within the city of Tacoma and to bring local artists in on what we were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

After seeing photos of Jacobsen\u2019s work, Thoennes contacted him to ask if he\u2019d be willing to create an original piece for the hospital.<\/p>\n

Jacobsen agreed right away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my parents tried to hospitalize me after I had an incident in the past, there weren\u2019t any hospitals nearby that had room for someone like me. I just went to the regular ER instead,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s not enough places like Wellfound for people who need them, and there\u2019s still a stigma around depression. But with Wellfound, it was really cool to see so many people who were stepping in with their own resources to make future generations more accepting of mental illness. I was happy to help and be part of it, however I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thoennes felt that it would be important for Jacobsen to see the space where his art would be displayed. He brought Jacobsen to the Wellfound construction site to show him around, and it was during that tour when he first learned about Jacobsen\u2019s personal connection to behavioral health.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeter said to me, \u2018I want to let you know that I suffer from depression. I\u2019ve had a difficult time, I\u2019ve been there and I know what it is that you\u2019re trying to do. I really want to be part of this,\u2019\u201d Thoennes recalls. He and Jacobsen then walked to the lobby\u2019s entryway.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Peter, this is the wall for you,\u2019\u201d Thoennes remembers. \u201cLooking back on it now, that was a really bold thing to do because I didn\u2019t really know exactly what he would produce. But I just knew I had to give him that main lobby. It was a gut feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacobsen dedicated the next six months of his time to carving, sculpting and sealing the piece that he fittingly named \u201cOnward.\u201d By the time he showed Thoennes a photo of his finished creation, it was inked almost entirely in black.<\/p>\n

Thoennes was taken aback, at first.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was concerned about seeing so much black because black is perceived as a depressing color,\u201d Jacobsen remembers. \u201cBut I told John, that\u2019s the point \u2014 it\u2019s black on purpose. It\u2019s meant to acknowledge the darkness and the sadness that\u2019s there when you\u2019re depressed, but to also show that there\u2019s a light in the distance that can help you overcome it. As dark as it may seem sometimes, if you stay your course, you\u2019ll eventually find that light. You just have to know where to look.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since it was installed, \u201cOnward\u201d has already made an impact on people who have visited Wellfound. Jacobsen knows this because many of them have contacted him directly to tell him. Some have even requested to meet him, to share how much it resonated with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been one of the most meaningful pieces I\u2019ve ever done because of my own connection to it,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to have been part of this, and excited to be able to share what it meant to me with any patient who might be going through what I did. I feel like I\u2019ll always have that connection with them now. If my message can help even one person, that makes it all worth it for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

One in five adults will experience a behavioral health issue at some point in their lifetime. You can bring hope, healing and recovery to people in your community by making a donation<\/a> to Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a stunning piece of artwork that hangs in the entryway of Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behavioral-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOnward: The story behind Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital\u2019s art installation - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Onward: The story behind Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital\u2019s art installation - MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There\u2019s a stunning piece of artwork that hangs in the entryway of Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-06T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-26T21:59:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/placeholder-default.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"931\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MultiCare Health System\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"MultiCare Health System\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a785ffa7e02e06539698b678994ff983\"},\"headline\":\"Onward: The story behind Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital\u2019s art installation\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-06T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-26T21:59:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1019,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Behavioral Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\\\/\",\"name\":\"Onward: The story behind Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital\u2019s art installation - MultiCare Vitals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-06T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-26T21:59:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Onward: The story behind Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital\u2019s art installation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"name\":\"MultiCare Vitals\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MultiCare\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":409,\"caption\":\"MultiCare\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/multicarehealthsystem\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/multicarehealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/multicare-health-system\\\/mycompany\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/multicarehealth\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a785ffa7e02e06539698b678994ff983\",\"name\":\"MultiCare Health System\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/author\\\/multicarehealthsystem\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Onward: The story behind Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital\u2019s art installation - MultiCare Vitals","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Onward: The story behind Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital\u2019s art installation - MultiCare Vitals","og_description":"There\u2019s a stunning piece of artwork that hangs in the entryway of Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital.","og_url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/","og_site_name":"MultiCare Vitals","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","article_published_time":"2019-12-06T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-06-26T21:59:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":931,"height":540,"url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/placeholder-default.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MultiCare Health System","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/"},"author":{"name":"MultiCare Health System","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/a785ffa7e02e06539698b678994ff983"},"headline":"Onward: The story behind Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital\u2019s art installation","datePublished":"2019-12-06T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-26T21:59:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/"},"wordCount":1019,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Behavioral Health"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/","name":"Onward: The story behind Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital\u2019s art installation - MultiCare Vitals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-12-06T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-26T21:59:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/onward-the-story-behind-wellfound-behavioral-health-hospital-art\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Onward: The story behind Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital\u2019s art installation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","name":"MultiCare Vitals","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization","name":"MultiCare","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","width":1500,"height":409,"caption":"MultiCare"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/multicarehealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/multicare-health-system\/mycompany\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/multicarehealth"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/a785ffa7e02e06539698b678994ff983","name":"MultiCare Health System","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/author\/multicarehealthsystem\/"}]}},"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6543"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13667,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6543\/revisions\/13667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}