Community development practitioners work within systems of perpetual racial trauma, contributing to a rise in empathy-fatigue and increased professional burnout.

Our programs explore healing for both practitioner and communities by providing tools and resources that place racial equity at the forefront of community-based work. A healing-centered approach creates awareness and builds capacity, provides training and peer-learning opportunities, and sustains networks that expand the field of practice and will have lasting impact for generations.

Together with our partners, we are building a future that supports community members and practitioners so they can collectively heal from deep historical, structural and ongoing disinvestment. By cultivating healing-based practices, we help to increase levels of well-being across communities.

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Warm Red

Featured Program

Building to Heal: A Framework for Holistic Community Development

Funded by The Kresge Foundation, with support from the Barr Foundation and the Kendeda Fund, the Building to Heal framework provides context for why a healing-centered approach is essential to successful community development and defines core principles and strategies for implementation.

 

Healing-centered gatherings

We curate experiences for people in the field to reconnect with their own sense of purpose, build a community of peers and likeminded individuals, and experience healing for themselves. Participants leave with new tools, relationships and ideas that reenergize them, their teams and their work.

Our partners include, The Strong Prosperous And Resilient Communities Challenge (SPARCC), Native Homeownership Learning Communities Cohort and HOPE SF. Key projects include Building to Heal Peer Network, The Thome Aging Well Health Action Plan,  Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge, Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute, Regional Resilience Academies and the Next Home Grants Rose Fellowship.  Learn more about applying healing-centered practices to your community development work.

Within indigenous cultures, we incorporate traditional practices into our programming, use open and closed ceremonial practices with smudging, intergenerational connectivity, and apply our traditional language.
Shelby Chapoose, Executive Director, Indigenous Health & Wellness Connections
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Cornerstone Blue

Featured Program

Build to Heal Peer Network

To expand the field of practice applying the Building to Heal Framework, we launched the Build to Heal Peer Network with support from The Kresge Foundation in May 2023.

Members learned about the framework, shared their experiences applying what they learned in their work, and co-developed tools and resources to support other community development practitioners in their work.