Local communities can take powerful steps to safeguard peace and strengthen civic agency—if people are prepared and ready to face emerging challenges.

Directly impacted communities are in the best position to identify early warning signs of conflict and understand the unmet needs that stand in the way of lasting peace. However, they are rarely supported to lead.

Karuna’s core programs work from the ground up to transform that dynamic. Our partnerships set up systems that involve whole communities in healing divides and addressing shared challenges. We take time to ensure that residents have the ongoing capacity to collaborate across differences toward a future where they all can thrive.

In West Africa, we call these peacebuilding structures Community Peace Committees. In the U.S., we call them Community Response Hubs. In these times of escalating conflict worldwide, the demand for these locally-owned systems is increasing as neighbors look to each other for safety, support, and hope.

How our “peacebuilding structures” work

Our core programs empower people to lead community-based responses that address unmet needs and respond to the first signs of threat or tension. During times of crisis, the process creates resilience against polarization and violence. At all times, it engages people in working across differences toward a vision of positive peace.

Program Highlights

Networking communities for regional impact

We know it is not feasible to set up peacebuilding structures in every community. But by creating regional networks that connect communities with stakeholders and each other, we can extend their influence.

We have worked with partners in Nigeria to set up Community Peace Committees at more than 50 sites across 5 states. These committees are wrestling with similar threats, such as armed banditry and farmer-herder conflicts, and have been convening in regional networks since last fall. To better address their security needs, the project consortium team organized a forum with national stakeholders on April 1. This created a rare opportunity for direct dialogue among community peacebuilders and state and national institutions that support early warning and early response to conflict.

The National Forum generated more than 21 preliminary policy recommendations—including a 3-tier protocol to link Community Peace Committees, state peacebuilding commissions, and federal institutions; improved protections for frontline peacebuilders’ safety; and a process to integrate community-generated early warning data into Nigeria’s national conflict monitoring system. In April, three Regional Stakeholder Forums worked on next steps to coordinate implementation of these recommendations.

Starting local to strengthen civic agency in the U.S.

Last fall, we began a partnership with New North Citizens’ Council (NNCC) to create a pilot Community Response Hub in the North End of Springfield, MA. Since then, we have co-developed our strategy, built local support, and outlined a training curriculum that adapts Karuna’s peacebuilding approach to the U.S. context. We have also been invited to apply for grants that would allow us to develop a regional pilot of connected Hubs in the Greater Springfield area.

As one of the Northeast U.S.’ most economically and civically marginalized areas, Springfield’s North End often faces the brunt of wider challenges. A Community Response Hub is designed to bring local residents and stakeholders together across differences to anticipate, plan for, and respond collectively to challenges before they escalate. NNCC already hosts strong networks that drive responsive human services, community engagement, and youth development. We are eager to pilot a Community Response Hub together as a way to empower people with new skills and processes to face problems together in these divisive times.

Though this work is deeply local, we participate in national networks like SHIFT Action Lab and Better Together America to help connect local action with national strategies.

Empowering youth to build community

Our Circle Up! project prepares young leaders in Massachusetts as “circle keepers” who facilitate meaningful sharing and listening across differences. Last fall, we trained school and social service staff in how to mentor new cohorts of youth. We also launched workshops directly for young people in Springfield, MA (photos above: January 2026).

Middle and high school youth in Beat the Odds, Ignore the Statistics—a citywide program hosted by NNCC and partners—are now leading circles among their peers, with ongoing support from adult mentors. Participants have been deeply engaged in the circle work—talking about life’s difficulties, expressing themselves, and discovering common ground across differences. This not only supports youth mental health during challenging times, but also creates pathways for their civic engagement and involvement in the Springfield Community Response Hub.

We are grateful to the Bud Ackerman Fund, the Amelia Peabody Foundation, and Greenfield Savings Bank for support of Circle Up!

Supporting peacebuilders worldwide

The Paula Green Legacy Fund honors Karuna’s founder through mini-grants to projects by our local partners. This spring, the Fund is supporting a training of trainers in dialogue facilitation and violence prevention in northern Benin. We are also funding dialogue forums and training in peace leadership among politically diverse youth leaders in Nepal to support good governance after anti-corruption Gen Z protests led to the election of a reform platform in March 2026.