In Search of Peace
My name is Wilfred Henry and I am a community justice practitioner based in Central Virginia, with a focus on sexual harms and other relational violences. I work with individuals, couples, families, and communities as they navigate the aftermath of interpersonal harm.
Too often, the criminal and civil legal systems deepen harm instead of offering healing — prioritizing punishment over repair and leaving everyone more isolated and traumatized. But other ways exist: practices rooted in safety, accountability, and care that meet harm without reproducing it.
These practices invite us to be seen, heard, and held right where we are on our path of healing from harm — not rushing or forcing outcomes, but listening for what’s needed and cultivating the safety that allows what’s true to emerge and be received.
About In Search of Peace
In Search of Peace is a project of the In Search of Peace Fund, a community-based initiative supporting non-carceral responses to sexual harm and other relational violence. It grows from a belief that healing, accountability, and safety can be cultivated in community — not through punishment, but through presence, dialogue, and care.
Based in Central Virginia and collaborating with partners nationwide, the project offers direct support, accompaniment, and circle processes for those navigating harm, alongside education and collaboration with families, practitioners, organizations, and communitues building their own capacities for prevention and response.
Our mission: make community-held healing and accountability accessible to everyone affected by harm — grounded in dignity, consent, and collective repair.
Below, you can read more about me, the practices, and how to be in touch.
▶ About Me
My name is Wilfred Henry. I’m a community justice practitioner rooted in restorative, transformative, and other (re)emergent justice traditions and practices.
I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and of the criminal and civil legal system’s response to that harm.
My practice is shaped by abolitionist and Black liberatory traditions that call us to imagine safety without punishment, and to remember that harm and healing live within our relational fields—the webs of connection we are each a part of. It is also guided by a commitment to naming and shifting power dynamics, so healing can happen without reproducing domination.
I honor the deep influence of Indigenous circle practices and peacemaking traditions. I do not claim those lineages as my own; I learn from teachers who carry them and seek to practice with respect, credit, and consent.
My work is also informed by somatic healing lineages that foreground embodied listening (including the Trager® Approach), by practices of decolonizing Nonviolent Communication, and by trauma-informed stabilization practices.
I believe there is nothing that can be done to us—or that we can do to others—that should jeopardize our fundamental human needs for dignity, safety, and belonging.
▶ Where I Practice
I live and practice in the Charlottesville/Albemarle area and travel to nearby counties, throughout Virginia, and beyond when invited. Meeting online is often the first and safest place to start, and follow-ups can happen virtually or in person depending on wants and needs.
▶ Fees
These services are offered by donation. You’re invited to contribute if that feels possible, but no one is turned away for lack of funds. Accessibility includes material access — care should not depend on your income, housing stability, health, or capacity to work. If making a donation would create strain, please know that your participation is still fully welcome.
Contributions, when they’re possible, help sustain this practice and extend care to others who might not otherwise have access.
This practice is supported by the In Search of Peace Fund, which gathers community resources so that peer support and justice work can remain donation-based — rooted in solidarity, not scarcity — and accessible to all who seek it.
The Practices
▶ Approach & Options
Every process is an invitation, not an obligation. Some people want to move toward dialogue, others toward boundary-setting, others toward peer accompaniment or affinity healing circles. From disclosure to dialogue, there are many valid paths — and we can explore them together. There’s often deep value in simply having someone sit with you, hear where you are, and share imagination about what might be possible.
- Confidential intake to hear your story and goals · Invitation to share only what feels right. No need to retell details of your harm story.
- Stabilization and safety planning so urgency doesn’t set the pace
- Exploring options together, including trusted partners in my network
- Individual preparation and skills for difficult conversations · podmapping and tending to your support networks
- Shuttle or parallel conversations (without direct contact) · support with letter writing or other indirect dialogue practices
- Agreements and boundary-setting without a joint meeting
- Facilitated dialogues or family group circles only when conditions are safe and everyone consents
- Warm referrals to other community justice practitioners, therapists, somatic movement educators, advocates, or others in my network
▶ Values
- Consent & Dignity — participation is voluntary, and boundaries matter
- Confidentiality by Agreement — explicit, mutual, and revisited as we go
- Pace & Safety — we move at the speed of trust
- Trauma-Aware & Embodied — attending to nervous systems, not just words
- Non-Carceral Orientation — outside punishment systems, oriented toward care
- Power Dynamics — harm often reflects and amplifies differences in power. We name those dynamics openly and design processes that prevent domination, coercion, or silencing.
- Relational honesty — truth without pressure to reconcile or forgive
- Relational contexts — harm happens in webs of relationship, so healing belongs there too
- Relational healing — grounded in the possibility of repair and dignity for all
▶ Process
- Welcome call (30 minutes) — clarify needs, fit, and immediate supports
- Intake & consent — one-on-one conversations to set scope and confidentiality
- Preparation — stabilization, skills, expectation-setting
- Choosing a pathway — from shuttle work or agreements to, if appropriate, a circle
- Integration — follow-up, agreements, and referrals as needed
- Independent community practice; not therapy, legal advice, or investigation
- Confidentiality and consent are reviewed together and revisited
- No pressure to disclose, forgive, or reconcile
- My role is stewarding process, dignity, and safety
If you were referred by a court or program: I work independently from the criminal legal system. With your consent, I can confirm engagement (e.g., “in preparation” or “in process”) but will never share confidential content without your explicit consent.
▶ Is This For Me?
People come to this work from many directions — after being hurt, after realizing they’ve caused harm, or because someone they care about has been affected. These reflections can help you sense whether this kind of community-based justice process might be a good fit for where you are right now.
▶ I’ve Experienced Harm
- You’ve experienced sexual harm, betrayal, or another form of relational violence and want to heal in your own time and way.
- You’re seeking accompaniment rather than investigation — space to be heard, witnessed, and supported without pressure to forgive or reconcile.
- You want to explore what safety, voice, and agency feel like again in your body and relationships.
- You’re looking for support with safety planning, nervous system resourcing, and building relationships of trust and care around you.
- You’re open to a community-based approach that centers consent, pacing, and choice — including practices like listening circles, peer support, and collaborative safety planning.
It’s more than okay to be uncertain about what kind of support you’re looking for. Reaching out is often the first step. We can take time to listen, ground, and explore what would feel most supportive for you right now. All of this is invitational.
- You need an immediate crisis response or emergency shelter. If you’re in immediate danger, please reach out to a trusted hotline or local community service rather than police.
- You’re seeking legal representation or investigative advocacy, which fall outside the scope of community-based practice.
- You’re seeking a faith-based or clinical framework; this work is grounded in relational, community, and somatic practice rather than religious or diagnostic models.
- You’re hoping the process will fix another person or force accountability on someone not currently participating.
▶ I’ve Caused Harm
- You’ve caused harm — through sexual behavior, coercion, violence, or betrayal — and want to take responsibility in a non-punitive, growth-oriented way.
- You’re willing to explore the roots of your actions, practice listening without defending, and stay with discomfort as part of accountability and repair.
- You want to develop skills for honesty, emotional regulation, and embodied accountability — including practices for working with shame and rebuilding trust.
- You’re open to community processes that hold the needs of those harmed alongside your own capacity for change and reconnection.
- You’re seeking guidance on how to prepare for, or begin, conversations of accountability within a safer and supported structure.
- You’re seeking legal defense or representation. (If you’re also navigating court processes, we can talk about what’s possible alongside them.)
- You’re primarily motivated to clear your name, reunite quickly, or control the narrative rather than understand impact.
- You’re in an acute crisis or highly unstable situation where reflection and relational work may need to wait until more immediate supports are in place.
- You’re seeking a faith-based or clinical framework; this work is grounded in relational, community, and somatic practice rather than religious or diagnostic models.
Accountability is a practice, not a single event. It unfolds in layers — readiness, curiosity, reflection, and small acts of repair. If you’re uncertain but drawn to begin, we can start with quiet conversation and grounding support, exploring what accountability could mean for you in this moment and what safety might make it possible.
▶ Someone I Know Experienced Harm
- You’re a friend, family member, or partner of someone who’s been harmed and want to show up with care, steadiness, and accountability to your own impact.
- You’re seeking guidance on how to listen, support choice, and avoid retraumatizing patterns or overstepping boundaries.
- You want to learn community-based ways to hold space — not to fix, rescue, or take over — but to accompany and resource.
- You’re curious about how your relationships and community can become more reliable places of support and safety.
- You’re primarily seeking details about the incident or hoping to mediate without consent from those directly involved.
- You’re looking for therapy or individual trauma treatment for yourself (though I can help connect you to supportive options).
- You’re approaching this process on behalf of someone else rather than from your own readiness to learn and engage.
Being alongside someone in the aftermath of harm can be complex and tender. These practices offer guidance for showing up without overly centering or erasing yourself, building the steadiness and clarity needed to sustain care over time.
▶ Someone I Know Caused Harm
- You’re connected to someone who has caused harm — as a friend, family member, partner, or colleague — and want to support accountability without enabling or abandoning them.
- You’re ready to explore how to stay grounded, set boundaries, and engage in restorative rather than punitive ways.
- You’re interested in learning how to interrupt denial, minimization, or avoidance with clarity and compassion.
- You want to understand how to balance care for all involved while centering safety, truth, and repair.
- You’re feeling unsure how to stay connected or what accountability can look like from your role — especially if you’ve felt pressure to manage, fix, or hold too much.
- You’re looking for legal advice or direction on intervening in an active criminal process.
- You’re seeking to mediate or facilitate accountability directly between parties without their consent or readiness.
- You’re looking for a clinical or therapeutic service rather than a community-based accompaniment process.
Supporting accountability takes steadiness, humility, and care — for yourself as much as for others. If you’re unsure where to begin, we can start with a conversation about what support, safety, and boundaries might make this work sustainable for you.
▶ FAQs
▶ Do you only do circles or dialogue?
No. Many processes focus on preparation, shuttle work, or agreements without a direct meeting.
▶ What kinds of situations do you support?
Primarily sexual harms and relational violence in families, schools, and communities. Also adjacent conflicts needing a voluntary, paced approach.
▶ Can you connect us to others?
Yes. The welcome call often includes warm hand-offs to other facilitators, therapists, advocates, or peer supports.
▶ What if someone doesn’t want to participate?
Participation is always voluntary. We’ll explore what’s possible with those who are willing, and sometimes that means focusing on preparation, boundaries, or community support rather than a joint process.
▶ Do you work with people who have caused harm?
Yes. I work with survivors, with people who have caused harm, and often with both in relation. Every path is invitational and grounded in dignity.
▶ Is this confidential?
Yes, confidentiality is defined together. I am not a mandated reporter in the same way therapists are, but there are some limits we will discuss clearly before beginning.
▶ How is this different from therapy?
I’m not a therapist. This is peer support and community justice practice. While it can be deeply healing, it is not clinical treatment. Many people choose to do this work alongside therapy.
▶ What if we start and then realize it’s not working?
That’s okay. We can pause, shift direction, or connect you to other practitioners in my network.
▶ Resources
Community, crisis, and learning resources coming soon.
Contact
Wilfred Henry (he/one)
In Search of Peace — Community Justice Practice
Email: wilfred@insearchofpeace.one
Signal: @wilfredhenry.01
Phone (voice/text): +14342601415
I’m often slow to process and respond to inquiries and requests. I try to get back to folks within a few days to a week. If you haven’t heard from me, please feel free to send a gentle nudge. If you need a more prompt response, please call.
Accessibility & inclusion: These practices are meant to be as accessible and culturally responsive as possible. I show up to this work as a traumatized body in need of accomodations and offering support around your access needs is central to these practices. I recognize my own identities (white, queer, male) and will support connection to other peer practitioners when and if that better meets your needs. LGBTQ+ communities, chosen families, and non-traditional constellations are welcome. We can meet online or in person. Please share your access needs and we can figure out the best way of meeting them together.