The CPG format arose from a tragic event that occurred in the summer of 2014. That summer, a community member who worked in The Village (known to Connections staff as "the Vis Valley office") was murdered. The process group was held in response in order to create a space for staff to discuss feelings and reactions, how to process the murder with youth and families, and how to gauge safety within the communities they were serving as providers.
A former AIIM Higher team member, Veronica Libre, is credited with building on that initial meeting and creating a monthly format for similar conversations to take place. As Veronica tells it, "I walked out of the process group feeling inspired... [I] felt it was much needed to speak about what goes on in our neighborhoods. Given that this group was not followed [up on] for some time, I felt that [it] was important to begin the process group again... and have it ongoing to build community awareness."
Beginning in April 2015, Veronica initiated the monthly CPG meeting at Connections. The mission of the project was to give staff a place to come together and focus on community-related issues from the local to the global. Over the course of its existence, CPG topics have included gentrification, gang culture, the school-to-prison pipeline, privilege, racial profiling, identity and belonging, labeling, family, grief and loss, election reactions, gun violence, and police misconduct.
Again from Veronica, "As providers we sometimes take a vantage point of reading and watching the news about these issues, while some of our clients feel the effects of the issues in their daily lives. The purpose of this process group is to bridge this gap and provide a space to talk about the impacts of our work in relation to these issues, and even how these issues impact our lives directly, in an open, safe, and respectful environment."
If you would like to suggest a topic for a future group or volunteer to facilitate one, please email the CORE team at SFcoreteam@senecacenter.org.
A former AIIM Higher team member, Veronica Libre, is credited with building on that initial meeting and creating a monthly format for similar conversations to take place. As Veronica tells it, "I walked out of the process group feeling inspired... [I] felt it was much needed to speak about what goes on in our neighborhoods. Given that this group was not followed [up on] for some time, I felt that [it] was important to begin the process group again... and have it ongoing to build community awareness."
Beginning in April 2015, Veronica initiated the monthly CPG meeting at Connections. The mission of the project was to give staff a place to come together and focus on community-related issues from the local to the global. Over the course of its existence, CPG topics have included gentrification, gang culture, the school-to-prison pipeline, privilege, racial profiling, identity and belonging, labeling, family, grief and loss, election reactions, gun violence, and police misconduct.
Again from Veronica, "As providers we sometimes take a vantage point of reading and watching the news about these issues, while some of our clients feel the effects of the issues in their daily lives. The purpose of this process group is to bridge this gap and provide a space to talk about the impacts of our work in relation to these issues, and even how these issues impact our lives directly, in an open, safe, and respectful environment."
If you would like to suggest a topic for a future group or volunteer to facilitate one, please email the CORE team at SFcoreteam@senecacenter.org.