Catskills Community Empowerment
At Reunion, we are here to help the people of the Western Catskills leverage community spirit into positive social change throughout heartfelt dialogue and direct action.
The interconnected small towns of the Western Catskills share a rich cultural history to lead by example for other parts of the region: to sit in difference without fear, and show up for those who need it most.
This project comes at a time where so many of us are tired of divisiveness and bored by the mainstream media’s flat depiction of rural America, which fails to capture the kindness and nuance that underlies our communities. All that we need is already here, but we will find it in reunion.
Our programs + priorities:
Civic circles
01
Amplify local voices and identify unmet needs
Through circle discussions, community conversations, and legal support trainings, we are empowering community members with new tools to discuss and navigate the challenges of daily life.
healing circles
02
Foster care & collaboration
Through healing circles, we are providing a therapeutic practice for individuals to self-reflect and process hardship in a supportive and compassionate environment. Healing circles also help build solidarity and foster greater understanding among neighbors.
03
Improve material conditions
Though direct action initiatives we are combatting housing injustice and instability, and other areas that contribute to hardships of rural life, to help shrink and heal the wealth and justice gaps that underlie the region.
Civic circles
Celebrating the history and residents that make this town special, while thinking through the problems we face, and how to solve them.
Civic Circles
Legal Empowerment Trainings
Civic Dialogues are talking circles, with conversation focused around identifying challenges that affect our community, with a special eye towards topics that impact material and interpersonal wellbeing. The idea is that by each person contributing their insight or experience, and holding space to listen to others with an open heart, we can work collectively to devise solutions in an inclusive environment that is compassionate and non-judgemental. The circle has an uncanny way of being greater than the sum of its parts.
Speaking your truth is liberating, and listening to the experiences of others is a learning experience that makes us both more empathetic and knowledgeable in the course of our daily lives.
civic circles
What do you love about living in these cold misty mountains? What makes your life special? What makes it difficult? What could be better? What do you think we can work on together?
Where do you see the Western Catskills headed in ten years? Where do you see yourself in ten years? How can we ensure the Western Catskills stay a forever home to those who have been living here, and want to live here, while increasing the resources that make a community and all the people inside of it thrive?
Are you, or someone you care about currently being affected by a housing or employment issue, or a legal problem you don’t know how to address?
Are you willing to listen with an open heart to those most affected? Do you want to collaborate in developing creative solutions?
Are you ready to celebrate the oldest members of our community, and learn from their experience?
Are you ready to leave politics out of it? Are you ready to put down your phone?
Do you want to set an example of what a small town can do?
Talking Circles aren’t formal–they have a simple structure that ensures everyone gets an opportunity to speak. They are an effective way of organizing a safe environment for taking space to share your story, and making space for others who need it. Circles are cathartic, healing, and inspiring, and very easy to join.
Civic Circles allow us to work in collaboration with our neighbors to think through local problems and devise solutions in an environment that is nonjudgemental, supportive, collaborative, and kind.
You can help build a space where we can both celebrate the beauty and bounty of the Catskills, while also talking about difficult topics like housing shortages, empty buildings, outside investment, shrinking schools, job scarcity, and affordability issues that unfairly and disproportionately impact those who have lived in this area for a long time.
In our Civic Circles, we are celebrating the history and residents that make this town special, while thinking through the problems we face, and how to solve them.
Civic Circles Are Built By You
Join Us!
Examples of Challenges and Unmet Needs in the western catskills devised from previous civic circles
These issue areas were devised and identified in dialogues with members of our local community. It is no surprise that they echo challenges that are faced across the nation.
Wealth gap. There is a wealth and income gap between people who moved to the area recently and those who have been here for decades, and in many cases, generations.
Housing Instability. Whether you are seeking to rent or purchase your home, amplified prices make this unaffordable to many who have spent their whole lives in this region. Unsafe conditions in affordable rental housing creates serious safety concerns.
Job scarcity. The local economy has few well-paying jobs, and those who work remotely or outside the area have a greater opportunity to earn higher wages.
Affordability. Rural gentrification drives up the cost of housing and goods, and disproportionately burdening those who live and work full time locally.
Education. School populations are dropping, and student resources are diminishing. Merger or regionalization plans need community input and involvement to progress. We need to do more to help our children thrive.
Single Parent Support. There are not enough available and affordable local resources to offset the burden of parenting without a partner.
Justice gap. There are nearly no affordable or free legal services within a reasonable driving distance.
Pontificating about an area's problems without direct input and leadership from those most impacted misses the mark. The issues and challenges brought up in circles are sourced directly from those most effected, who are also often the best-positioned to brainstorm solutions together. Reunion is committed to organizing and supporting these dialogues, which reach beyond the pleasantries of daily life, or the inhumane and isolationist exchanges that occur on local social media pages. Join Us!
Healing Circles
An open space to talk about what is on your heart: share without judgement, sit in compassion without unwanted advice.
Healing Circles are a cost-free and effective therapeutic modality with a low barrier to entry, that leaves participants feeling a sense of support, resilience and expanded awareness. They operate from the exalted nature of the shared experience of being human.
healing circles
Do you want to explore and unburden some of the thoughts and feelings that have been weighing on you?
Have you been reflecting on the past, and noticing how you may have changed?
Do you feel stuck or sad, and need a kick-start to help propel growth and healing?
Do you feel just fine, but are interested in sharing space with those from whom you might learn something?
Do you need a splash of joy, and a reminder that despite the difficulties and tragedies of our complicated world, there is so much to celebrate?
than healing circles are here for you!
Share your thoughts and feelings without judgement or unwanted feedback. See yourself reflected in the experience of others and learn from other’s wisdom. Experience truth rise in the center of the room. Allow yourself to release ideas that have been holding you back. Experience the joy of coming together with those you may know, those who you do not, those who are different from you, and those with whom you find an uncanny resonance in the sacred unity of the human experience.
To respect other’s privacy and experience, we operate under the motto that in talking circles, “stories stay, and lessons leave.” Sharing your thoughts and experiences in a circle means they are safely kept there.
join us!
Spring Series at Lion Eyes Bookstore
66 Mains Street, Stamford N.Y.
7-9 pm, First Friday of March, April and May 2026
What are healing circles?
Healing Circles are a form of talking circle with an open format–there is no agenda, or central theme that the group has set out to explore. Participants are free to share or reflect on their experience, and encouraged to use the space to process thoughts and feelings they might not otherwise know how to introduce into conversation.
In Healing Circles we do not give advice, and we do not directly respond in-turn to what other’s have said. We listen without judgement, and create space for everyone to be heard. Often some central themes or through lines do emerge, which then can open a conversation for further exploration.
