Adult Community Circles
Indigenous-rooted circle practice for adults healing from the impact of incarceration. Held regularly, facilitated by community members trained in restorative practice.
Who it serves
Adult community members who want a regular, structured space to share, heal, and build community alongside others impacted by the same systems.
How it works
Community circles are an indigenous-rooted practice central to restorative justice work. Rooted's Adult Community Circles are facilitated by Rooted-trained circle keepers and follow the practice's core form: people sit in a circle, a talking piece passes from person to person, and only the person holding it speaks.
The space is confidential — what's said in circle stays in circle — and grounded in agreements set by participants at the start of each cohort. The work isn't therapy or processing in a clinical sense. It's the practice of being heard, of hearing others, and of building the kind of relational web that can hold someone through a hard week.
Eligibility
Open to adults in our service area whose lives have been touched by incarceration — directly or through a family member. No referral required.
Outcome
Reduced isolation, strengthened community ties, and ongoing healing in a space designed by and for community — not delivered to it.
Many participants describe circle as the first space where they could speak honestly about reentry without managing someone else's reaction.