OUR MISSION

We seek to contribute to lasting individual and collective healing that makes possible a more peaceful and just future.

How We Fulfill Our Mission

Facilitate Healing of Memories (HOM) workshops
Facilitate Community Dialogs
Train HOM workshop facilitators for IHOM-NA and for partner organizations seeking to utilize our methods

We Believe All People

Are spiritual beings and of infinite worth
Share responsibility for the past and are responsible for shaping the future
Are capable of being both victim and victimizer

We Are Commited To

Redeeming the past by celebrating that which is life giving and laying to rest that which is destructive
Equity and social justice for all
Working in partnership with others who share our vision

History

The Institute for Healing of Memories-North America (IHOM-NA) is an affiliate of the Institute for Healing of Memories in South Africa, founded by Fr. Michael Lapsley to promote healing and reconciliation in the post apartheid years. In 1990 he survived a letter bomb sent by the apartheid regime, and has since devoted his life to facilitating the healing of others. He began the Healing of Memories methodology while working at the Trauma Center for Victims of Violence and Torture in Cape Town, South Africa, which supplemented the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, headed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who continues to be a patron of the Institute.As the value of Healing of Memories workshops were increasingly recognized, the South African Institute was invited by partner organizations and governments in many other countries to conduct workshops, train facilitators, and consult on issues of healing and reconciliation. Since the 1990s, the Institute has provided Healing of Memories workshops around the world, enabling participants from diverse ethnic groups, races, and religions to reach a better understanding of themselves and each other.In March 1999, the first Healing of Memories workshop in the United States was held at Riverside Church in New York City. Its enthusiastic reception demonstrated that the methodology and message of the Institute were as relevant in North America as in South Africa. Soon thereafter facilitators were trained to offer workshops in the United States. The Institute for Healing of Memories-North America was incorporated in April 2009 in Delaware as a nonprofit corporation.

Who We Serve

We serve people who endure the pain of discrimination, marginalization, and other traumas large and small. These include but are not limited to immigrants and refugees, victims of domestic and gender-based violence, soldiers returned from recent or distant wars, the incarcerated or those recently released and are coping with the problems of reentering society, people in residential substance abuse treatment, those living with disabilities. Our workshops have proven highly effective in empowering them to begin to heal, to seek further help if they need it, and to move forward with hope to create a better life. Our workshops not only further the healing of individuals, but also can help restore the social fabric of communities and societies. When participants come from diverse social groups, listening to one another’s stories also helps to overcome negative perceptions of “the other.” People witness first hand the thoughts and feelings of participants different from themselves who have nevertheless experienced great pain. Thus, the very experience that promotes individual healing also furthers mutual understanding, reconciliation, and a sense of community empowerment.