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ATTENDANCE POLICY

We expect participants to attend the entirety of each session they register for. Full attendance will create a more supportive environment and enrich your experience and that of your peers.

 

DESCRIPTION

​Meeting the Moment: A Grief Processing Circle is a recurring, intentional, and supportive meeting space for NYC non-profit care providers who witness and can help address the emotional, psychological, and systemic challenges experienced by individuals and families navigating migration.

Guided by a skilled instructor, this informal group offers space for providers to speak, listen, and be witnessed in community. Each circle blends mindfulness, somatic grounding, reflective journaling, and optional small‑group sharing to help participants process grief and other experiences you may be holding in a holistic way.
​The structure encourages emotional expression while cultivating tools for increased self-awareness as you notice and respond with care to your own shifting emotional states. Participants leave with greater clarity, connection, and tools for ongoing healing for themselves and the communities they work with.

All NYC non-profit care providers who serve individuals and families navigating migration are welcome.

You can drop into one session, or attend all three bi-weekly grief circles for deeper connections and support. ​ 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Participants will:

• ​Develop embodied awareness by practicing somatic techniques that support regulation during grief.
• ​Strengthen reflective capacity through guided journaling that helps participants name emotions, patterns, and needs.
• Enhance relational presence by engaging in mindful listening and speaking within the circle and small‑group dialogues.
• Build sustainable coping skills using mindfulness practices that can be applied beyond the circle for continued healing.
• ​In a caring environment, connect with other NYC non-profit care providers who witness and hold pain and loss as they serve immigrants and refugees. ​

WHAT TO EXPECT

This is a gentle, experiential, and structured space designed to help you move through grief with support rather than pressure. Each circle begins with grounding—mindfulness or somatic practices that help you settle into your body—followed by spacious time for speaking, listening, and being witnessed in community.

In each circle, you may be guided through reflective journaling to deepen insight, gentle somatic movements, and small‑group conversations for closer connection. The overall experience is slow and intentional. It centers on honoring your pace, all that you witness in your work, and your capacity in the moment.

ELIGIBILITY

Academy courses are open to non-profit care providers who deliver social services or behavioral health care in New York City.

This includes, but is not limited to, staff of: community-based organizations, government agencies, and public hospitals, along with members of mutual aid groups, community gardens, NYCHA resident committees, and more.

​​This course is open to any NYC non-profit care provider who serves immigrants and refugees, including but not limited to non-profit providers of legal services, social services, health, and mental health care. ​