Some events you attend and forget about by the following week. This was not one of those.

On Saturday, June 6th, as the sun began to settle over the Civic Center Pond at 1000 Webster Street in Fairfield, California, something quietly powerful happened. Hundreds of community members, neighbors, elected officials, faith leaders, therapists, advocates, and ordinary residents came together at the water’s edge with lawn chairs and blankets and a shared willingness to do something that does not always come easily in the aftermath of tragedy.

They sat with it. Together.

The Community Healing Circle was co-hosted by Broken by Violence, Tri-City NAACP, and Councilwoman K. Patrice Williams, built around a single theme that managed to say everything that needed to be said in just seven words.

Why This Moment Mattered for Fairfield

Fairfield has been carrying a lot. Recent violence in the community has left residents grieving, shaken, and in many cases quietly struggling with the kind of trauma that does not disappear simply because life keeps moving forward. The families directly affected. The students who witnessed things no young person should ever have to see. The neighbors who heard the news and felt something shift in their sense of safety and belonging.

Grief like that needs somewhere to go. And too often in our communities, it does not have one. People absorb it privately. They push through. They manage. And the weight accumulates in ways that affect families, relationships, and the overall health of a community for years.

The Community Healing Circle was a direct response to that reality. Not a press conference. Not a policy announcement. A genuine, intentional space for people to come together, be seen in their pain, and begin the work of healing surrounded by community rather than alone in it.

Councilwoman K. Patrice Williams, who has spent her career building organizations like Solano Impact Care and Hazel’s Tranquility Place specifically to meet people in their hardest moments, understood what this evening needed to be. 

How the Evening Opened

As community members settled in around the pond, Councilwoman Williams opened the gathering personally.

She took time to thank the organizers, acknowledge the elected officials and community leaders who showed up, and set the tone for everything that followed. There was no political posturing in how she opened that circle. Just a woman who genuinely cares about her community, standing in front of it, at one of its more difficult moments.

Opening remarks followed from Nikila, who served as the evening’s anchor throughout, alongside an introduction from Pastor Brown whose presence grounded the gathering in faith and community rootedness.

Then came something unexpected for many in attendance.

Rochelle Henderson, a therapist, led the group through scream therapy. A practice that gave people a physical, embodied way to release what they had been holding inside. It sounds unusual on paper. In person, in that setting, surrounded by neighbors under an open sky, it was exactly the kind of unconventional, deeply human moment the evening called for. Sometimes the body needs to do what the mind cannot yet process.

Honoring Those Impacted by Violence

One of the most important moments of the evening came when Ebony took the space to do work that needed doing.

She led a formal acknowledgment of the victims, their families, the students, and the community members who have been impacted by the recent violence in Fairfield. In addition, She spoke honestly about what it means to witness violence and carry that trauma, giving language to experiences that many in the crowd had been struggling to put into words.

She also shared information about a Facing the Trauma event at Liberty Church, making sure that everyone who came to the Healing Circle left knowing that the support does not stop when the evening ends. Healing is not a single night. It is an ongoing process, and the community made sure people knew where to find the next step.

Community Voices: Elected Officials and Advocates Speaking as Neighbors

The gathering then moved into a season of bridging and connecting, where community speakers and elected officials shared reflections in what felt less like a formal program and more like a gathering of people who genuinely love the same place and the same people.

The speakers represented the full breadth of Fairfield’s civic and community leadership:

• Lori Wilson, Assemblymember for AD 11
• Helen Tilley, Chair of the Fairfield Suisun Unified School District
• Wanda Williams, Solano County Supervisor for District 3
• Dana Dean, Trustee of the Solano County Board of Education
• Elease Cheek, Vice President of the Solano County Board of Education
• Larry Bluford Jr. from R.E.A.L.
• Anthony E. McDonald Sr. from Leaders of Men
• Gail Byrdsong, a 30-year citizen advocate whose decades of showing up for this community speak for themselves

What stood out about this portion of the evening was not any single speech. It was the collective presence. The fact that so many people across so many different roles and organizations chose to be there, in person, at the pond, on a Saturday evening, for a community that needed them.

Healing Through Words and Sounds

Andre Humphrey with Inner City Bliss brought the evening’s theme to life through a healing practice built around words and sounds.

He created an experience that met people exactly where they were. Not asking them to perform wellness or move past their grief prematurely. Just offering tools. Language. Sound. The kind of creative and deeply human practice that reaches places in people that conventional support sometimes cannot touch.

For that stretch of time, the Civic Center Pond became something different. A sanctuary, quiet in the way that communal spaces full of people can sometimes be quiet, when everyone is genuinely present together rather than just physically occupying the same location.

Looking Forward

Nikila closed the evening with next steps and a reminder that the work of healing is not something that happens once and then ends.

The Community Healing Circle was a beginning. A signal from Fairfield’s community and its leaders that people do not have to navigate grief and trauma in isolation. That there are organizations, advocates, faith leaders, elected officials, and neighbors ready to walk alongside anyone who is struggling.

Councilwoman K. Patrice Williams co-hosted this event not because it was politically convenient but because it reflects exactly who she is. A woman who has spent her adult life building organizations designed to catch people when they fall. A council member who understands that governing is not just about policy votes. It is about showing up for the full human reality of the community you serve.

Her co-hosts, Broken by Violence and Tri-City NAACP, brought the same spirit. Organizations with deep roots in Fairfield, doing the unglamorous, sustained work of being present for people in their hardest moments.

The Organizations Behind the Work

The Community Healing Circle was supported by a wide network of community-based organizations, elected officials, faith leaders, and residents united around healing, peace, and community resilience.

If you want to stay connected to ongoing support and community healing work in Fairfield and across Solano County, here are the organizations doing the work:

• Solano Impact Care at solanoimpactcare.org provides personalized care and meaningful connection for individuals navigating challenges in Solano County
• Hazel’s Tranquility Place at hazelstranquility.org offers safe housing, compassionate structure, and a pathway forward for vulnerable women and children
• Broken by Violence works with those impacted by violence, offering acknowledgment, community, and a path toward healing
• Tri-City NAACP continues its decades of advocacy and community support across the region

To stay informed about future community healing initiatives and how to get involved, visit kpatriceforfairfield.com and connect with Councilwoman Williams on LinkedIn.

Fairfield Showed Up for Itself

That is really the story of June 6th.

A community that has been through something hard chose to come together rather than retreat. It chose to acknowledge the pain rather than minimize it. It chose to offer tools for healing rather than pretend that grief resolves itself with enough time.

And it did all of that at the edge of a pond, as dusk fell over Fairfield, with lawn chairs and blankets and seven words that carried more weight than any policy document ever could.

You don’t have to carry this alone.

Fairfield showed up for itself that evening. And that is something worth remembering.

Learn more about Councilwoman K. Patrice Williams’ work in District 1 at kpatriceforfairfield.com

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What was the Community Healing Circle and who organized it?

A community gathering at Fairfield’s Civic Center Pond co-hosted by Broken by Violence, Tri-City NAACP, and Councilwoman K. Patrice Williams, created to offer collective healing after recent community violence.

2. How can Fairfield residents access ongoing trauma and healing support? 

Solano Impact Care at solanoimpactcare.org is a strong starting point for community support services across Solano County.

3. What is Hazel’s Tranquility Place and who does it serve?

Founded by K. Patrice Williams and named after her mother, it provides safe housing and a pathway forward for vulnerable women and children in Solano County.

4. Who were the featured speakers at the event?

Speakers included Assemblymember Lori Wilson, FSUSD Chair Helen Tilley, Solano County Supervisor Wanda Williams, and several other elected officials and longtime community advocates.

5. How can I stay informed about future community healing events in Fairfield?

Follow Councilwoman K. Patrice Williams on LinkedIn and visit kpatriceforfairfield.com for updates on upcoming events and community initiatives.