Restorative Justice Signposts

I was given a bookmark with a list of what Harry Mika and Howard Zehr call the Restorative Justice Signposts. They are essential in understanding what restorative justice is, and what it is not...

We are working toward restorative justice when we...

• focus on the harms of wrongdoing more than the rules that have been broken,
• show equal concern and commitment to victims and offenders, involving both in the process of justice,
• work toward the restoration of victims, empowering them and responding to their needs as they see them,
• support offenders while encouraging them to understand, accept and carry out their obligations,
• recognize that while obligations may be difficult for offenders, they should not be intended as harms and they must be achievable,
• provide opportunities for dialogue, direct or indirect, between victims and offenders if appropriate,
• involve and empower the affected community through the justice process, and increase its capacity to recognize and respond to community bases of crime,
• encourage collaboration and reintegration rather than coercion and isolation,
• give attention to the unintended consequences of our actions and programs,
• show respect to all parties including victims, offenders and justice colleagues.

Crime wounds... Justice heals

Community Voice Reflection

I had the opportunity to participate in my second conference with SLRJP this April as a community voice volunteer. One of the things that make restorative conferences so valuable is that those that were impacted by the crime (both directly and indirectly) have an opportunity to speak. This includes members of the community.

As a representative of the community it is my task during the conference to show young people the bigger picture, so to speak. To help them understand that their actions did not just impact themselves or their family, but has an effect on the community at large, whether I know the youth or not. If the crime is shoplifting, community members can speak to the added costs that are placed on paying customers. If it's graffiti or property destruction, they can discuss the anxiety they have about the security of their own property.

One thing that I have been struck by in both conferences that I have participated in is the limited voice that youth bring to the process. Not because they aren't given the opportunity, but because they don't seem to know what to say. Often times, the words heard most often are "I don't know." This experience is not new to me. In my professional work with youth, I often get the same response (or lack of response) when asking them about what they think or want or feel. Restorative conferences are one of the few responses to youth (mis)behavior that are rooted in hearing from the young people themselves. I have often heard adults ask youth "What were you thinking?!", but I've rarely seen them wait to hear the answer.

I am currently reading the book Peacemaking Circles & Urban Youth: Bringing Justice Home by Carolyn Boyes-Watson. There is a quote from a staff member at an organization named Roca that really resonated with me about the lack of voices among the young people I have worked with in all different capacities. She stated:

Young people got so much to say, but they've been neglected for so many years-- just left out on the street. They want to talk to people, and they want to share this stuff and their pain, and yet they don't know how to do it in a good way.

This statement embodies why I have become so passionate about restorative justice. Whether in the justice system or school, our society is designed to identify the wrong-doer and punish them. In that process, neither the causer of harm, nor those that were harmed are given much opportunity to give voice to the wrongs that have happened and the lessons learned. With restorative conferencing, all parties are brought together to talk about what happened. Both sides must sit in a circle and may actually begin to "see" each other for the first time. Offenders will find out how deeply their actions impacted the victims and they, in turn, will no longer just see the crime that was committed but the person that made a poor choice.

Though not always the case, restorative conferences offer all parties involved an opportunity for healing, redemption and possibly closure. Unfortunately, our current standard of justice leaves many of those things behind.

MN Daily Article about SLRJP

I recently spoke with a writer at the Minnesota Daily about my volunteer work with the Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice Partnership for the story below:

Local program helps youth offenders repair harm done in communities

Why Restorative Justice?

When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to work with other adults and youth in my community to start a youth organization. One day I got a postcard in the mail, advertising free pizza and the chance to talk about what changes I would like to see in my community for young people. I went to the meeting and ended up volunteering to be a youth member of the Board of Directors. During that first year, I attended monthly meetings and took the time to make sure the youth perspective was included in all of the preliminary planning and development of the organization.

In my second year on the board, as a senior in high school, I was nominated by the adult members to be the Vice President. At the time, I didn't want to accept the nomination. What could I, as a high schooler, possibly know about being the Vice President on a board? After some convincing from the adults that believed in me, I accepted the nomination and spent the next year in an unexpected leadership role.

That experience was one of the most significant in my life, because it sent me on the path toward youth development. I found a passion in the work I was doing and wanted to open other youth organizations and help other kids. The piece that I didn't think much about, at the time, was how significant an opportunity it was to sit at a table with adults as an equal. I was able to raise questions, concerns or ideas as anyone else could, and know that my perspective was valued by others.

It wasn't until I began my minor in Youth Studies at the University of Minnesota, that I was able to truly appreciate the gift I had been given. I was able to reflect about my own significance as a young person in my community and recognize the important role adults had played in supporting that discovery. I decided that I wanted to be one of those adults.

I initially learned a lot about youth empowerment as it relates to civic engagement. One of my professors told me about the "Ladder of Participation".

Learning about the Ladder of Participation gave me a perspective of how to work with young people in an authentic way when it comes to decision making. Although I really like this theoretical perspective and it has been influential in how I think about youth work, it has not been something that I have utilized in my current work. Hart's ladder is a powerful way to think about organizational development and strategy, which means that it it is most effective when implemented by leaders in the organization. It is something that must be embraced from above in order to be truly effective. I have great aspirations to be one of those leaders and will someday implement the Ladder of Participation when developing my own organizational strategies.

What I like about restorative justice is that it doesn't require leadership from the top in order to be effective. It can be utilized by frontline youth workers in a variety of different situations to develop a sense of equality and belonging. All participants are considered equal, regardless of age, gender, education level or socio-economic status, which creates a authentic space for "youth initiated, shared decisions with adults" (rung 8) to exist. Even if an organization does not have the cultural inclination or structure to give young people the opportunity for decision making, youth workers can still look to restorative measures as a means of creating a space where all voices are heard, responded to and respected.