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 [...]

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 [...]

Understanding, living and facilitating Restorative Justice

The Journal for Peace & Justice Studies – volume 18 number 1 & 2  out of Villanova University is dedicated to Restorative Justice.  I have finally gotten a chance to start reading it.
The first article by Joyce Zavarich provides an excellent background in Restorative Justice.  What I really liked was a figure she developed.  She breaks [...]

Sometimes life is like a quilt raffle . . .

At SCVRJP, our board of directors fundraising committee is busy at work with a Quilt Raffle project.  They have NO idea, they are giving me a lesson in life.
Backdrop:
As an organization we really aren’t that old.  Founded in ‘01, first employee in ‘04 and the Restorative Justice Center in 2006.  When I took the reigns [...]

People really do just want to be heard.

My first interaction with Ted Wachtel from IIRP, was almost 10 years ago.  We were in a break out session, in the Thunderbird Motel in Minneapolis, MN.  During the discussion, Ted spoke about a Harvard Business Review Article on ‘Fair Process’.  I followed up at lunch, he took my card and said he would send [...]

The SCVRJP Newsletter for May 2009

Thanks to a new volunteer, I’ve gotten some ideas to knit together SCVRJP and the Circlespace blog.
If you are interested, take a look at the May Newsletter.
You can sign up to recieve the newsletter and you can sign up Subscribe in a reader and get blog posts sent you your email.

I can’t get very far from blogging, speaking from the heart.

I did a recent post that was speaking from the heart, it was about my relationship to my work right now.  It feels good to write and there is something about sharing in a way to think it could help others.  When I didn’t post for two days this week, it was on my mind.  [...]

Why do people think shame and punishment works?

The great debate about Youth Court has been in front of me again, so I sent the following email to my board.  Hoping they will pass it on.  If you want to see the study I attached to the email, It’s posted in an earlier blog, Here.
The question of Teen Court/Youth Court has come up [...]

The Social Emotional Learning benefits of School-based Restorative Justice.

SEL – Social Emotional Learning – Postive Impacts here.  A resourceful website in general CASEL – Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning.
Another helpful article on what SEL is and how it helps our children - here.
The Center for Social and Emotional Education CSEE provides a brief and relevant overview on this link, regarding the importance of [...]

3 ways and 3 outcomes for falling in love with your job.

 
3 ways to fall in love with your job.
1.) Find meaning for your life –  in your work.  I love going to a massage therapist that make me feel like I want to become a massage therapist.  Committ completely, others will feel and see that in you.  If you know that what you are doing is [...]