Together, We Heal: Sustaining Sister Circles for Women and Families

Help sustain Asha’s Sister Circles — healing spaces where women share meals, stories, and strength. Your gift provides food, child care, and hope for survivors rebuilding their lives in community.

Sister Circle Support Groups, started by Asha Family Services (Asha) in 1988, are culturally groundedhealing spaces rooted in African American women’s traditions — and open to all women seeking connection, information, healing, and support. At Sister Circles, women learn the signs of abuse, how to stay safe, resources and where help is available and they share that knowledge with others. Groups were halted during the COVID 19 pandemic and went online; however, they have begun anew in person, due to women’s calls to start again.

Every week, women across Milwaukee come together at Asha’s Sister Circle Support Groups — safe, healing spaces rooted in African American traditions of sisterhood, storytelling, and shared meals. Why a Sister Circle? Because healing happens together in community — one meal, one story, one sister at a time.”

Each gathering includes a shared meal and activities that nurture connection, trust, and friendship. Communal meals is a cornerstone of Sister Circle Support Groups for the women who participate and the children they bring with them who are cared for in a separate space. Meals foster trust, community, and cultural bonding. Sharing food is not a “supplemental cost” but a therapeutic intervention central to program success. We know scientifically and experientially that sharing meals reduces stress, builds trust, and opens the door for authentic sharing. Healing is holistic: therapy feeds the mind, safety feeds the body and meals feed the soul. These weekly 90+ minute gatherings offer more than emotional support — they nurture mind, body and soul. Each Circle begins with a warm communal meal prepared with love by Terrilynn’s Restaurant, giving women and their children a comforting sense of home. While mothers participate in healing and growth, their children are cared for in a safe, nurturing environment nearby.  

Sister Circles welcome women from every walk of life. While the program was created to meet the needs of African American survivors, the healing space appealed to women of all backgrounds — including White, Native, Latin and others — who come together in solidarity. Some are survivors; others are friends, family members, or women simply seeking community and strength. What unites them all is the shared belief that when women gather with open hearts, everyone’s healing is possible.

The beauty of Sister Circles is that every woman who comes contributes to the collective healing — whether she’s seeking help, offering it, or both. Together, they remind each other that healing isn’t a destination; it’s a journey we walk together.

Your gift helps make this possible.

• $25 covers one shared meal for a woman in the Circle
• $50 provides on-site child-care for a family
• $100 supplies journals, art materials, and wellness tools for healing
• $250 sustains one full Sister Circle session — food, child-care, and materials

Each tax deductible contribution supports survivors of domestic and sexual violence and community violence as they rebuild their lives through connection, culture, and community. Healing happens when women gather, listen, learn, share, and lift each other up — and you can help keep that healing alive.