In January 18 remarks to mayors attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors 2023 Winter Meeting in Washington, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Chair of the Conference’s Center for Compassionate and Equitable Cities, announced that development of a six-part program designed to teach self-compassion and community well-being was underway in his city and would be released for distribution to all cities in the 2023 Annual Conference of Mayors to be held June 2-5 in Columbus, Ohio.
Designed to help people ultimately decrease violence and trauma and increase individual and collective healing, the program, Compassionate USA, will include videos, activities, resources, and a toolkit. Individual sections of the program will:
- teach learners how to approach systems such as families, schools, faith communities, and governments with compassion;
- help learners recognize shared experiences of trauma and how to heal together;
- celebrate differences and recognize deep interconnectedness;
- introduce skills that encourage learners 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
- help apply principles of compassion to oneself.
Compassionate USA is being developed by the Alamo Colleges District, Northwest Vista College, and the City of San Antonio. More information and the program’s video trailer is at https://compassionateusa.org.