I believe SOOOO strongly about Restorative Justice. I really do. And this past week, after being involved in a forum that saw a family reunited, and a young girl energized to be so much better than a thief, my passion has been renewed! Seriously. If you are not familiar with RJ, check it out.
I first learned about RJ when i was taking Criminology classes. I picked it because it did sound interesting, and i was not into more law or policing stuff... I was somewhat blown away. Okay, no, I was TOTALLY blown away. Two years later, I took the class again - at a different university with a different prof and in a different capacity. We had guest speakers who've been through RJ after they lost their daughter to murder, we had individuals out on parole after they were charged with manslaughter... ALL fans of RJ and it's ideologies. These people now teach the programs, they run the forums, they advocate for it rather than regular court systems.
Over a year ago, i started volunteering for 2 different organizations in town that facilitate RJ forums - one for youth, the other for adults. I went through my weekend of RCMP institutedRJ facilitator training, and now I have officially completed my requirements to be certified to co-ordinate forums anywhere across Canada. Pretty cool. I'm excited. --- Note: RJ can be instituted in ANY capacity. Work. School. Family. The principles are only that the person who caused harm takes responsibility for their actions, sits and tells their story, hears how the person who was harmed WAS harmed, and consents to complete an agreement (put together by them and only them) ex: community hours, material restoration, monetary restitution, counseling, rehab etc etc. It can be as simple as "repair and repaint the destroyed fence". This is good stuff people!!
This past week I facilitated a highly emotional forum (as mentioned above). In it, I got to advocate for another program i'm a huge supporter of (Teen Challenge) and encourage the person who caused harm to apply. ... An hour later I made a poster board with a girl i'm mentoring through Restorative Justice in order to build her self esteem/self respect and prevent further encounters with the law. We put down pics of her on a board, as well as things she likes about her self, dreams of doing etc. Her last statement made me want to cry. After all the other "I" statements I prompted her with, she -on her own- chose to write "I hope to some day be a role model." I literally teared up and told her how proud of her I was. It was a GREAT day. *sigh*. I LOVED every minute of it...
I first learned about RJ when i was taking Criminology classes. I picked it because it did sound interesting, and i was not into more law or policing stuff... I was somewhat blown away. Okay, no, I was TOTALLY blown away. Two years later, I took the class again - at a different university with a different prof and in a different capacity. We had guest speakers who've been through RJ after they lost their daughter to murder, we had individuals out on parole after they were charged with manslaughter... ALL fans of RJ and it's ideologies. These people now teach the programs, they run the forums, they advocate for it rather than regular court systems.
Over a year ago, i started volunteering for 2 different organizations in town that facilitate RJ forums - one for youth, the other for adults. I went through my weekend of RCMP institutedRJ facilitator training, and now I have officially completed my requirements to be certified to co-ordinate forums anywhere across Canada. Pretty cool. I'm excited. --- Note: RJ can be instituted in ANY capacity. Work. School. Family. The principles are only that the person who caused harm takes responsibility for their actions, sits and tells their story, hears how the person who was harmed WAS harmed, and consents to complete an agreement (put together by them and only them) ex: community hours, material restoration, monetary restitution, counseling, rehab etc etc. It can be as simple as "repair and repaint the destroyed fence". This is good stuff people!!
This past week I facilitated a highly emotional forum (as mentioned above). In it, I got to advocate for another program i'm a huge supporter of (Teen Challenge) and encourage the person who caused harm to apply. ... An hour later I made a poster board with a girl i'm mentoring through Restorative Justice in order to build her self esteem/self respect and prevent further encounters with the law. We put down pics of her on a board, as well as things she likes about her self, dreams of doing etc. Her last statement made me want to cry. After all the other "I" statements I prompted her with, she -on her own- chose to write "I hope to some day be a role model." I literally teared up and told her how proud of her I was. It was a GREAT day. *sigh*. I LOVED every minute of it...
To complete an amazing week, last night i went to another Teen Challenge graduation. After the ceremony some of us hung out and all I can say is that I really do adore these men. If anyone ever would like a dose of good soul searching and spiritual challenge - have a conversation with a graduate of teen challenge. No joke. These boys have encouraged me, challenged me, and caused me to dig deeper with Jesus than any other experience... I only met them 6 months ago while volunteering at Creationfest, got to know them 4 months ago, and have officially decided that I don't ever want to lose them from my circle of influence.
Right now, I can truely say that I'm LIVING.....
