OCF Blog

One Circle Foundation aims to provide services and resources to support facilitators of youth service programs. We meet the needs of our community where it’s at.  Unfortunately, our community is dealing with too much all at once. We are met with violence, systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, ablism, housing insecurity, a climate crisis, mass shootings, war, a worldwide pandemic, and a severe mental health crisis. These large-scale traumas are on top of any personal challenges that individuals may be going through.  These topics can be hard to discuss with the youth and communities that we all work with, but it’s essential that we open the door for discussion to process these issues in a safe and supportive environment. Here is a list of resources for navigating through these topics with the youth and communities that you serve. 

Adolescence can be a difficult time. Trying to develop independence, finding yourself, body changes and first loves. For me I had a wonderful childhood, however, when adolescence hit, things changed. I tried to fit in and experience all the things I was SUPPOSED to according to society's norms. Those experiences didn't work for me, and I thought there was something wrong with me. My way of dealing with it was to use drugs, alcohol and engage in self-destructive behaviors. There were no support groups, no one to talk to about my confusion. I went on through my teens and twenties struggling to fit in. At the age of 28 I kissed a woman and my life changed...

Managing challenging group dynamics can be difficult, but there are a number of different ways facilitators can handle challenging behaviors depending on several factors. It is important that the facilitator examines the situation carefully as each circumstance may require a different type of approach depending on the individual and/or group, the timing, personal or group sensitivity, if there is a sense of urgency, etc. In most circumstances, however, the facilitator can use the following strengths-based strategies: 1) NAME IT (the behavior) and 2) USE THE GROUP

I’ve been considered selfish in my lifetime and hard to work with, I’ve been called a bitch (I may have earned that one a few times), and as an adolescent, I followed through with a plan to take my own life. Just one of these behaviors is enough for some people to distance themselves. Luckily, I have had people in my life who have stuck by me. They gave me the support I needed to grow, to learn, and most importantly, they gave me multiple chances. I think about this when I’m working with families who are struggling, when I’m facilitating structured support groups for youth, and when I’m showing up for my friends and family.  How I show up is important to me.

Mother’s Day is around the corner and the nation is absorbing a reality in which 42 percent of Americans who can give birth will likely lose their reproductive freedom within the coming months. So how can we best honor our mothers this Sunday? Trust them. Believe them when they tell you they have a detailed understanding of the opportunities and limitations of their lives. They may be

Articles continue to pop up on my newsfeed about how the pandemic has been detrimental to the mental health of many, especially young people. The isolation, lack of connection with peers, and the uptick in violence within homes and racism within communities during the last 2+ years have led to a mental health crisis for youth.  According to the 2021 CDC Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES) of 7,705 high school students, nearly half reported they persistently felt sad or hopeless and experienced emotional abuse in the home, while The Trevor Project’s 2021 Survey showed that 70% of LGBTQ+ youth stated that their mental health was “poor” most of the time or always during COVID-19.  In October 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) declared a national emergency in children's mental health. AAP President, Gabrielle A. Carlson said, “We are caring for young people with soaring rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality that will have lasting

El Manual S.O.G.I.E Handbook (la expresión de la orientación sexual e identidad de género) ahora está disponible en inglés y español. El Manual S.O.G.I.E. es una guía para aumentar el conocimiento y la comprensión de conceptos, términos, definiciones y praxis para crear entornos de seguridad para todo joven quien se identifique sobre el espectro S.O.G.I.E.   // The S.O.G.I.E Handbook (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression) is now available in both Spanish and English. The S.O.G.I.E. Handbook is a guide to expand understanding and knowledge of concepts, terminology, definitions, and actionable affirming practices and approaches to create safety for all youth along the SOGIE spectra. 

I have a confession: As a woman and a feminist, I have felt a tinge of apathy - bordering on annoyance - towards Women's History Month. I've never shared this thought, even privately. I appreciate its existence. I believe it has value. So what's the problem? I think it feels like the bare minimum. As we enter a 5th wave of feminism - which we’ll all encounter regardless of our individual feelings or awareness of feminism - we are being challenged to upend long-held truths. You may have already felt this change. We are trading the traditional, male lens of history that values an unending record of battles, inventions, and clever or powerful individuals... with one that reexamines changing tides with a holistic appreciation for the effect those times had on a vast spectrum of peoples... Children. Families. Indigenous peoples. Traditionally marginalized folks of all stripes. We are challenged to grant them dignity by amplifying their voice in the records of the past.

I always knew that I had the heart to help people, but I was not clear on the path to go about it. When I think back to how I got where I am, I am often taken back to this specific time. I was a first-year at Arcadia University and I was opening a bank account for the first time all by myself. I do not remember a lot of it. It was such a mundane errand to run, but what I do remember is a conversation that I had with the bank teller. She was asking me what my major was and I told her that I wanted to go into a trauma counseling field. Then, she asked me if I experienced anything similar to what they have. I told her no. She shifted into a more serious tone and asked me how I was going to relate to anything that they tell me if I have not gone through it. That one conversation made me question my decisions. How was I going to counsel if I could never relate? Now, I am a mental health counselor intern at a high school in Philadelphia. After spending some time learning my way around and getting to know some of the youth, they have started to open up to me