Irina Kaplan and Sabina Saleh, Directors of Trauma Informed Practice and Resiliency with Good Shepherd Services in New York City, share their story of using circle as a response to the US Capital insurrection.

Community Circle following the US Capitol Insurrection

Being trauma-informed and committed toward becoming an anti-racist organization, Good Shepherd Services has a practice of calling a “community meeting” which is a simple yet powerful check-in circle. A community meeting is part of the culture of the agency, where most meetings begin with a version of three core questions: 1. How are you feeling, 2. What’s a goal you have, and 3. Who can support you? This practice is even more important in response to tragic and challenging events.

The insurrection at the US Capital happened on January 6, 2021. Television was covering the traditional validation of the democratic election of Joe Biden as the new President. What happened was a display of white supremacy and violent mob-like actions that resulted in the death of at least six people and the destruction of Capitol property. The images were jarring and in sharp contrast to how Black Lives Matter protests has been handled in the recent past.

The following day the Executive Team of Good Shepherd Services held their weekly Zoom meeting and agreed that they needed to be responsive to what had happened the day before, and that staff might need support as a community just as they did in response to the earlier murders of Black men and women by police. Irina Kaplan and Sabina Saleh are both Directors of Trauma Informed Practice and Resiliency and co-designed a circle process for the afternoon after the insurrection.

The Executive Team sent out an invitation that day to all staff (about 1200 employees) and fifty staff showed up on Zoom for the virtual circle. The Executive Director, Michelle Yanche, opened the circle and shared the purpose. Others shared their reactions to the insurrection and set the tone for the smaller circles in break-out rooms with about eight to ten people. Agreements included:

• We honor confidentiality.

• Speak your truth.

• Tend to the well-being of the group; we may pause to re-center and refocus.

• We ask for what we need and offer what we can; it’s okay to just listen.

• We do our best to listen with compassion and curiosity, even when it’s difficult to do so.

• Honor each other for who we are. Hold relationships at higher value than the conflict we may experience.

• We lean into discomfort in order to heal and grow.

• Expect and accept non-closure.

• We stick to our agreements.

The initial circle question was “How are you arriving in mind, body and/or spirit?” The other questions were:

• What drew you here today?

• How are the events of yesterday impacting you?

• What do you need right now?

The small circles in breakout rooms lasted about thirty minutes (and by all accounts needed to be longer), and there were share-outs back in the full group. Some feedback included that it was helpful to be in circle; that the pandemic isolation “sucks” and that people wanted to connect. The reality of white supremacy was front and center. It was hard to figure out what people needed the day after the insurrection and the virtual environment was a way to connect. The agreements seemed helpful to allow space for Black staff to take the lead in expressing their feelings versus centering white people’s shock. The community meeting ended with a reminder to practice self-care and to identify who they could lean on during this time.

Irina Kaplan and Sabina Saleh, Directors of Trauma Informed Practice and Resiliency, Good Shepherd Services in New York City.

With additional gratitude to Nancy Fritsche Eagan for interviewing Irina and Sabina.

In times where people are navigating difficultly and grief, you may sense an opening to call a circle. Many of these circles might need to take place virtually instead of face-to-face, and The Circle Way Hosting Guide for Virtual Grief Circles offers some preparation questions, invitation, ideas for creating centre, using ritual and other practices, tips for hosts and guardians, and a sample virtual grief circle session flow that can be adapted for other topics. Available to download here.