FACE for Families
When home feels like a battleground
A family circle gives everyone a quiet, safe place to be heard, from the youngest to the oldest. When families pull together, they begin to realize their own strength. The family becomes its own primary resource.
Where a family circle can help
Sound familiar?
FACE for Families grew out of something we saw again and again: much of the trouble that brings police to a door started in a family where one member no longer felt part of it. Facing it together, early, can change everything.
Through the Circle process, family members begin to understand and appreciate each other.
- Constant arguing, or communication has simply died
- Children not respecting family rules, their school teachers, or the law
- Teenagers feeling unheard or disrespected
- A serious illness or death that has set the family reeling
- Work or financial stress that is affecting the whole family atmosphere
How a family circle works
Step by step
- 1
We meet each of you
One or two facilitators meet immediate family members individually to explain the process, work out who to invite, and agree on a recent incident that best shows the problem. That incident becomes the focus of the circle. - 2
The family, and people who know you
All immediate family members attend. It helps to invite extended family and close friends too: they see what the family is going through from the outside and bring fresh perspective. - 3
Speak only for yourself
Blaming isn’t allowed. Each person talks about their own experience and how the problem affects them and the family. Listening without judgment is what makes the circle safe. - 4
Build a plan together
Everyone suggests how to repair the harm and pull together going forward. The family reaches a consensus, and the main points are written into a circle agreement. - 5
Come back and celebrate
Two or three months later, the family returns to the circle to review the agreement and, hopefully, celebrate how far you’ve come.
“The circle not only dealt with the offence and helped my daughter to move forward in a good way but also taught our whole family how to be honest with and help each other.”
What a family circle offers
A fresh start, built together
- A chance for the family to sit together in a quiet and safe setting
- A place to listen to and begin to understand each other
- The experience of what it’s like to work together as a family and be proud of each other
- The hope for a new beginning based on a commitment by each member of the family
- A neutral setting that allows everyone involved to feel valued and comfortable voicing their true thoughts
Who can ask, and what it costs
Anyone in the family who feels a problem is shutting someone out, or causing unrelenting stress, can ask. So can someone close to the family or a professional working with them. There’s no set fee: FACE runs on donations, and families give what they can. If an agency referred you, it can usually help with costs.
Other programs
More ways FACE can help
- For youth & adults
Court & Police Referrals
Instead of going to court, the people affected by an offence meet face to face, agree on how to make things right, and move on.
Learn more - For neighbours & community
FACE for Neighbours
Fences, driveways, dogs, noise. Face the conflict without fighting it out, and build community one neighbour at a time.
Learn more
Ready to talk?
Call or write to us. We’ll explain how a family circle works and help you invite everyone who should be there.