Community healing and associated lives
Community healing recognises that violence and trauma affect not only individuals but also families, relationships, and wider social networks. Our work engages “associated lives” — family members, peers, and community actors — to foster shared understanding and collective responsibility.
Healing is understood not as isolated recovery, but as a relational process that builds empathy and strengthens community resilience
To sustain well-being efforts at the community level, Vishakha builds the capacities of grassroots workers and young women leaders to anchor healing practices locally. Around 20 emerging leaders are being trained in tools such as Dance Movement Therapy (DMT), art-based methods, and embodied practices.
Through this process, they are beginning to integrate well-being practices within Vishakha Khushali Kendras and other community spaces, nurturing a sustainable and locally rooted model of collective care.
We create structured yet open spaces where survivors and associated members can speak, listen, and process experiences without fear, judgement, or stigma.
Support circles bring together individuals and associated community members to foster empathy, shared responsibility, and sustained collective care.
Community living is envisioned as a feminist practice of collective care, where girls, survivors, and women workers share safe spaces grounded in dignity, autonomy, and mutual support. These spaces move beyond shelter, challenging isolation and enabling women and girls to live, learn, and heal together.
Hamkadam Awaas is currently operational, providing supportive living arrangements for girls pursuing education and those in need of safety during crisis. At the same time, Vishakha is in the process of thoughtfully developing a dedicated space on newly secured land — strengthening the vision of a sustainable, community-rooted living environment where choice, solidarity, and collective healing shape everyday life.
Where required, individuals are connected to counselling and psychosocial support services. Through initiatives such as Hamkadam, we provide survivor-centred counselling that addresses emotional distress and strengthens longer-term healing alongside collective processes.
We promote restorative approaches that centre dialogue, accountability, and repairing harm, moving beyond punitive responses toward healing and reconciliation.
