Facilitating Community Gatherings

Hiraeth Hope & Healing hosts a limited number of in-person trauma-aware gatherings each year. These events are peer-led and community-based, offering space for connection, reflection, and shared presence.

Submitting a proposal is optional and does not guarantee selection. We value alignment, care, and thoughtful engagement, and we review proposals with intention and respect for the community we serve.

How Facilitation Is Held

Facilitators support gatherings and community spaces with care and presence, grounded in respect for lived experience. Their role is to help create environments that are attentive to group dynamics and held with intention.

Facilitators do not direct outcomes or set expectations for participation. Their role is to support space that respects choice, pace, and individual autonomy.

Participation is always optional. No one is required to share or engage beyond personal choice.

How Facilitators Support Our Spaces

Facilitators are attentive to group dynamics, boundaries, and pacing. They help maintain environments rooted in consent and choice, while remaining responsive to the needs of each gathering.

Our facilitators come from a range of backgrounds and experiences. What unites them is a shared commitment to care, presence, and thoughtful engagement.

Facilitator Selection & Support

Facilitators are thoughtfully selected and supported by the organization. They receive guidance aligned with our commitments and community approach, and they engage in ongoing reflection as part of the shared responsibility for how space is held.

Upcoming Event Dates and Locations

Below are upcoming event dates and locations where facilitator proposals are currently being accepted. Additional details about each gathering are available on the individual event pages.

April 22–26, 2027 — Surf City, New Jersey

Join Us as a Facilitator

Hiraeth Hope & Healing welcomes collaboration with clinicians, educators, and individuals with lived experience who are interested in contributing to community-based gatherings grounded in care and accountability.

If you are interested in facilitating a session at one of our events, you are invited to submit a proposal for consideration. When submitting, please include your preferred location or locations and general availability.

Facilitators are welcome, but not required, to attend additional portions of the event. Many participants choose to engage beyond their facilitation role in ways that feel supportive and aligned for them.

If you know someone who may be a good fit, you are welcome to share this opportunity or their contact information. Our team is happy to follow up directly.

We also encourage you to explore our work and reach out with any questions before submitting a proposal.

Session Formats & Scheduling

Session formats and schedules vary by event type and location. Details are designed to support group size, pacing, and the overall rhythm of each gathering.

For five-day retreats, sessions are typically offered across multiple days. Friday sessions are often ninety-minute offerings held in small groups, with a maximum of ten participants, and may be repeated to allow multiple groups to participate.

Saturday sessions are often ninety-minute or three-hour offerings held with the full group of up to thirty participants. Sunday sessions are generally ninety-minute offerings held with the full group once.

For Wellness Weekends, the schedule is more flexible and may not follow the same structure. Some weekends do not include Friday sessions, and Saturday offerings may vary depending on location, facilitators, and overall design. Sessions are typically held with the full group and offered once.

When submitting a proposal, please indicate the event type you are interested in, your preferred session format, and general availability.

Strong Session Proposals

Strong session proposals engage participants through interactive or experiential formats that invite participation rather than presentation. Sessions should respect individual pacing and choice.

Proposals may include practical tools, insights, or shared approaches that support understanding and exploration, without positioning the session as therapeutic or outcome-driven.

Sessions should speak to points of connection across experiences while recognizing nuance and diversity. Proposals are expected to align with the mission and theme of each event.

Suggested Topics

Proposals may explore a wide range of themes connected to identity, family, and lived experience.

These may include trauma-aware approaches such as parts-based work, somatic awareness, narrative exploration, or other relational models, when presented in an accessible and non-clinical way.

Topics may also include identity shifts and integration, intergenerational experiences, family systems, attachment, rejection, and repair.

Grief, loss, and reconnection are central themes for many participants, including ambiguous or disenfranchised grief, estrangement, reconciliation, and identity integration.

Creative and expressive approaches are also encouraged, including writing, storytelling, visual art, music, and other hands-on practices.

What We Provide

Hiraeth Hope & Healing recognizes the time, care, and preparation facilitators bring to community gatherings.

Facilitators receive:

• Complimentary registration for the event they are facilitating

• Financial compensation for their session

Facilitators are also provided logistical and communication support before and during the gathering.

Participation beyond facilitation is optional and based on individual comfort and availability.

If you have specific accessibility needs or considerations, you are welcome to reach out so we can discuss how best to support your participation.

Optional Reflection

If you would like a moment to pause before submitting, Helix’s Corner offers a seasonal reflection and prompt designed to support clarity and intention.

👉 View this season’s reflection

Notes for Selected Facilitators

Facilitators are invited to share information about the gathering through personal or professional networks, including social media, when it feels appropriate.

A virtual meeting is held in advance of each event to review logistics and the overall flow of the gathering. Participation in this meeting is required.

Facilitators who are part of the impacted community receive financial compensation for their session, along with complimentary registration for the event.

Handout materials and any session-specific content should be submitted in advance so they can be prepared for participants. Hiraeth Hope & Healing will coordinate printing and provide support for additional materials as needed.

Notification of proposal decisions will be sent by email. Please check spam or junk folders to ensure delivery.

Facilitators who are selected are required to complete event registration in advance so preparations can be finalized.

Facilitator Registration

Please complete your registration by proceeding to the cart after submitting the form.