EMBRACING BUFFALO

Embracing Buffalo is a collaborative effort between two trios of women healers – three who live in Buffalo, and three who simply love the place that you call, “Home.” It is not only a response to the May 14th shooting– it is an attempt to address the horrors that preceded it, and to serve in addressing the myriad of symptoms that will continue to emerge in the massacre’s painful aftermath.

The three in Buffalo are Deidra EmEl, Executive Director of the WNY Peace Center, Buffalonian, doulah, COI; Kathleen Heim, Director of Continuing Education at UB School of Social Work; and Victoria (Vicki, or Victory) Ross, WNY Peace Center Board Chair.

The three who love Buffalo and are coming to help in this time of special need are Dena Adler, a Family, and Art Therapist who works in Rochester as well as Buffalo; Dr. Sabrina N’Diaye, a healer, storyteller, and peacemaker; and Dr. Carol Penn, medical doctor and movement, meditation, and mindset coach who has also danced and choreographed with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. The trio has specialized in facilitating healing work after mass shootings, including Las Vegas, Houston, the Pine Ridge Reservation, New York City, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, and the Capitol insurrection.

The Embracing Buffalo team understands the emotional, physical, and spiritual toll of service on the servants, survivors, and community. We intend to replenish the community, especially those most heavily impacted; and the leaders and healers serving them, contributing to expanding their capacity for continued service to humanity.

Please join the WNYPC and our guest healers at a session or sessions that fit for you from Wednesday, August 3rd – Saturday, August 6th!

Wednesday, August 3:  First responders plus (police, fire, and healthcare professionals, community) 12-3 pm, Frank E Merriweather Library, 1324 Jefferson Ave, Buffalo 14208

Survivors of the shooting (victims’ families, Tops employees and shoppers, and neighbors) 5-8 pm

Thursday, August 4: Individuals and members of the multiple communities and faith-based groups who have responded to the massacre 10 am-3 pm, Unity of Buffalo, 1243 Delaware Ave, Buffalo 14209

Friday and Saturday, August 5th, and 6th: A 2-day retreat for Black healers/leaders 10 am-4 pm, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 955 Main St, Buffalo 14203 

The Embracing Buffalo experience lies at the intersection of spirituality, science, and service. Our curriculum is largely based on the research and application of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s model for community healing and growth.  Meditation, mindfulness, and living in the present moment lie at the root of our teaching. 

Please go to bit.ly/EmbracingBuffalo for more info and/or the link to register for a session. We hope to see you there, where we can be #BuffaloHonest with ourselves and each other and find real comfort and relief and we continue to grow and nurture the #BelovedCommunity, in Truth and Love.