At the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 91st Winter Meeting in Washington on January 18, 2023, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Chair of the Conference’s Center for Compassionate and Equitable Cities, announced that the development of a six-part campaign designed to promote compassion and community healing is underway in his city and would be released at no-cost distribution to all cities at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 91st Annual Meeting in Columbus, Ohio, June 2-5.
Designed to help people ultimately decrease violence and trauma and increase individual and collective healing, the campaign, Compassionate USA, will include video shorts, resources, and a toolkit. Individual sections of the campaign will offer ways and encourage communities to:
- engage systems such as families, schools, faith communities, and governments with compassion;
- recognize shared experiences of trauma and how to heal together;
- celebrate differences and recognize deep interconnectedness;
- utilize skills that encourage individuals and communities to act in ways that reduce harm/suffering and increase well-being for others;
- develop practices for creating greater sense of inner calm and more mindful interaction with others; and
- apply principles of compassion to oneself.
Compassionate USA is being developed by Compassionate San Antonio through the City of San Antonio and San Antonio’s Peace Center at Northwest Vista College of the Alamo Colleges District. More information and the campaign’s video trailer can be found at compassionateusa.org. Cities, towns, and territories wishing to partner with Compassionate USA can email partner@compassionateusa.org.