February 2026

Roxana of Gardyn-Doula smiles whille look at a tree, with text overlay reading: "The winter is a time when we feel like everything is dead, but plants and trees are actually rooting and taking in nutrients to prepare for growth. In a lot of indigenous cultures, cedar represents protection and resilience because when everything else is dying, it stays green and strong. That's a way to become inspired."

Rooting and Growth: How Circles Help Women Bloom

Community / By

“The winter is a time when we feel like everything is dead, but plants and trees are actually rooting and taking in nutrients to prepare for growth,” she explains. The circle focused on this through conversation and meditation, with participants crafting small bundles of cedar branches. “In a lot of indigenous cultures, cedar represents protection and resilience because when everything else is dying, it stays green and strong,” Roxana says. “That’s a way to become inspired.”

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Group of young people and members of the Howard County YES Council.

“Our Young People Are Not Broken. The Systems Are.” — CCC’s Role in Howard County’s YES Council Report

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On December 1, 2025, Columbia Community Care Executive Director Erika Strauss Chavarria stood before community members, county leaders, and young people to present the final report of Howard County’s Youth Engagement Strategies (YES) Council. The report, Transforming Youth Outcomes through Restorative Justice, is the product of months of listening, data analysis, and courageous truth-telling by

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