Healing happens in the presence of others, just like the harm that caused it. Healing requires deep, personal inner work, but also requires community and relation. When those around us bear witness to our pain and suffering and respond with care, compassion, and empathy, we experience healing validation. Our community experiences transformative understanding, and this exchange inspires deep, community-wide healing.

Healing is not a straight line, nor is it a simple story. While healing is possible, it is messy, dynamic, full of starts and stops, resets and new strides.There is no right answer, or wrong way to heal, and there is no handbook. Each survivor carves their own unique path. Each survivor is an expert in their own healing direction and journey.

Healing has no expectations, no timeline. It also takes more than just time to heal. Each unique journey reflects the many variables that create and impact trauma, from our life experiences, to family and culture, to the practices, values, and available resources that shape this process. Just as there is no handbook, there is no timeline for healing.

Healing is yours, it’s personal and transformative. Each survivor assigns meaning to their own personal experiences, identifies the impact of that trauma, and ultimately owns their truth and journey of healing. A survivor decides how and when to respond to the trauma, what steps to take, and how and when to heal. Survivors are the experts in their own healing, and no one can take away a survivor’s right to heal.

Healing is a process of uncovering, understanding, remembering, and practicing. Healing teaches us, changes us, and often reminds us who we are, providing opportunity for growth, development, and transformation. It is a practice of carving new patterns in our brains and bodies to replace the old ones that no longer serve us, until the life we imagine is the life we lead.

We honor and recognize the Indigenous roots of relational approaches, as well as the continued Indigenous Peoples peacemaking efforts and resistance. We acknowledge the ‘First Harm’ of the land we reside on and the forced removal of Indigenous people from their lands as a result of colonization. We draw from restorative and transformative justice principles and practices. This means every voice is acknowledged and respected.

We walk into circle conversations with questions, not answers. We have built a responsive organization designed by survivors, and calibrated by their input, feedback, and needs.

Our first priority is to ensure that our work is representative of the intersectional experiences of the communities that we partner with. We employ practices that prioritize elevating those with lived experience at those intersections. We partner with local anti-violence organizations and agencies to design customized programs with their staff and those they serve. Circles are co-facilitated by HC and the host organization, in the community’s preferred language.

We aim to provide access to child care, transportation, technology, or other resources to ensure that our conversations are inclusive and accessible for everyone who wishes to participate. We aim to balance the power dynamics that exist both outside the conversation and within the conversation.

Practice courage around uncertainty, risk, or emotional exposure. Vulnerability involves identifying our emotions and cultivates intimate, human connection through the sharing of truths

Practice being genuine. Show up with your whole self, physically, culturally, emotionally & mentally

Practice acceptance of experiential truth and appreciation for the complex lived experiences of trauma. Affirm that a person’s experiences are valid and of value to yourself and your community. Listen actively and share the space.

Practice reducing harm. We all have the capacity to harm and be harmed. Willingly take initiative, accept responsibility and own our actions and their impact on others. If you have created harm, address it, if you see harm being done, address it. No harm happens in a vacuum.