Your social media and your restorative justice elevator speeches should vary.

Lets start with social medai:
You can connect Facebook and Twitter, so your tweets are your Facebook.  I did that for awhile, but felt I had two purposes for each.  Facebook, is me, it had to be I got deactivated last fall, for acting too much like a business.  I wish I did better with the [...]

Volunteer gratitude, a community member responds to the “we were bored” explanation.

You can’t do Restorative Justice without community members.  I believe they bring in collective wisdom.  I train our volunteers on aspects of Restorative Justice, and request they show up with their best selves.
I focus on Restorative Justice Accountability as being:

acknowledging you caused harm
understanding that harm from anothers point of view
recognizing where you had choices
take steps [...]

Restorative Justice is a Social Justice catalyst!

I had the good fortune of speaking on a panel.  The focus was social justice, we were given the task to define this, and explain it relevant to our Pledge of Allegiance ” . . . with liberty and justice for all . . . “.  I was in the middle of the line up so [...]

Restorative Justice is about change and transformation.

In Bikram Yoga, (my blog links, one with a video) the poses are held for 30 or 60 seconds.  As you feel your body tense and you are struggling to hold the pose (in the 104 degree room).  The teacher will say “change”.  As smoothly as possible, you move to the next position or the pause [...]

Book Review: Taking Restorative Justice to Schools – J. Holtham

Taking Restorative Justice to Schools, by Jeanette Holtham is the most recent addition to a School-Based Restorative Justice advocate or practitioner’s toolkit.  The book is a brief, concise and comprehensive review of Restorative Justice in the School setting.
In the hands of an administrator, the authors “real life experience”, voice was apparent.  I read the book from [...]

Having a process to repair harm is really important.

Often times, the process of participating in a Circle or Community Conference means a lot to community members and victims attending.  I am often times impressed with how having the discussion, removes a great deal of weight in the room.  Weight off the shoulders of the offender, for the harm caused.  Weight off of the [...]

The Fundraiser was a smashing SUCCESS!

I got to the hotel banquet room early.  I wish I would have snapped a photo.  The SCVRJP logo was on the program at each place setting.  Coffee mugs with the SCVRJP logo created a circle shaped center pieces.  There were 15 roundtables, each seating eight set up the length of the banquet room.  As [...]

Speaking about Restorative Justice, what one thing, is most important.

I’m struggling with what to say at tonights first fundraiser.  I know that I will have a demonstration towards the end.  I plan to make the ‘mic’ the talking piece, and have a few testimonials from the crowd.  I have a few people aware that the spontaneous opportunity will be presented.  I do believe I [...]

Restorative Justice for Victims and increased victim participation.

A few recent events pulled this post together.
1.) At the IIRP Conference, I teased the Prosecuter in attendance, asking him if he was lost.  It was just a little sarcasm about the different philosophies sometimes held by ‘prosecution’ and ‘restorative justice’.  I then shared with him how I appreciated prosecutors that took initiative in using [...]

It never hurts to treat yourself restoratively. Restorative Justice requires introspection.

I recently cleaned out my nightstand drawer.  I thought the mix of items were really interesting, can I explain a few.
-The Mini Bottle of Sky vodka, upper right corner.  Demonstrates my protective parenting skills.  I found the vodka outside of our apartment building, right by the door.  Just laying in the grass, unopened.  It’s mine now. 
-The handcreams, [...]