Disconnection is a major contributor to disease. The purpose of the Círculo (kinship circle) is to reconnect communities, one person, one family, and one town at a time. Happy and healthy families and communities demonstrate interdependence and work collectively as key to positive health, healing, and development. Creating this reconnection to a community’s history, values, and traditions involves reawakening the ancient role of community elders. The elders would serve as wisdom keepers; the reinstatement of this role supports the creation of these circles for connecting, sharing, storytelling and healing. These Círculos would benefit a community in such environments as clinics, prisons, schools, probation camps, parks, etc. What’s more, by providing motivational presentations and videos of elders telling their stories and collaborating with national groups, we develop the conduit to the younger generations.

Community Kinship Circles

The Círculo operates in the context of ceremony. They are a safe space for guiding people from awareness to movement; promoting the four LCC values, confianza (trust), respeto (respect), dignidad (dignity), cariño (love). Each participant has an opportunity to openly share pain, suffering and blessings, which in turn helps them re-connect and heal unresolved trauma. At the close of the circle, they return to their normal way of relating, ideally more conscious about their capacity to influence and be influenced by those in the circle of friends and family; more connected.

NCN has continued to honor the belief that all people are Sacred, by focusing on the affirmation and inclusion of members of our community who identify as being "two spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer/questioning, Transgendered (LGBTQ2S)" we invite all our relations to the CĂ­rculo as their full Sacred self, however they identify and choose to express that identity.

Men’s Monthly Talking Circle
Santa Clara County (San Jose)
When:Last Wednesday of each month.
Time:6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Where:NCN San Jose Office (1550 The Alameda Ave., Suite 320, San Jose, CA. 95126)
Contact:

Ariel Jimenez, NCN Program Manager

(408) 484-4421

[email protected]

Women’s Monthly Talking Circle
Femme Identified LGBTQIA2S+
Healing Hearts/Healing CorazĂłnes
When:First Tuesday of each month.
Time:6:30 pm - 8:30 pm PST
Where:Virtual
Contact:

Valerie Garcia, Comadres Administrative Assistant

(408) 484-4296

[email protected]

Men’s Monthly Talking Circle
East Los Angeles
When:Third Thursday of each month.
Time:7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Where:ELA Women’s Center (1431 S Atlantic Ave. Los Angeles, CA. 90022)
Contact:

Osvaldo “Ozzie” Cruz, Senior Manager, Education & Family Initiatives

(213) 432-1742

[email protected]

Facebook:East Los Angeles Men’s Circle
Women’s Monthly Talking Circle
National Comadres Circle
When:Fourth Tuesday of each month.
Time:6:30 pm - 8:30 pm PST
Where:Virtual
Contact:

Valerie Garcia, Comadres Administrative Assistant

(408) 484-4296

[email protected]