Restorative Practices
At our Restorative Justice Center, we offer programs that use restorative practices to bring together offenders, victims, and those affected by the offender’s actions to address the consequences of harm and agree on how best to repair it. Our victim-sensitive problem-solving conferences provide a safe and constructive forum for communities to resolve their own issues, demonstrating the positive benefits of restorative justice.
Our skilled facilitators provide a supportive and non-judgmental space for all parties to express their needs and experiences, using nonviolent communication techniques to emphasize mutual understanding, forgiveness, and growth. Our programs can be offered at any stage of the criminal justice process, offering a compassionate and effective approach to justice for offenders, victims, and communities alike.
Restorative Justice Conferencing can have positive benefits for all involved, and can be offered at any time during the criminal justice process including:
- As a diversion when the youth is taken in by MPD
- As the youth is processed through the judiciary system
- During incarceration/probation period
- After release from incarceration/probation
OUR SERVICES
Victim-Offender Conferencing
Victim-Offender Conferencing is restorative practice and process designed to hold offenders directly accountable to the person that they have harmed. The conferencing process brings victims and offenders together in a safe and structured environment, giving victims a chance to express how the incident affected them, get answers to their questions about what happened, and allowing them to be involved in the restitution or accountability process.
Victim Offender Conferencing is designed to give victims a voice and provides them the opportunity be involved in the process of finding a way to make things right, identifying what offenders can do to repair the harm that has been done.
If you would be like to set up a Victim-Offender conference, please email us at info@nvcnextgen.org. Please be sure to provide a description of the conflict and the parties involved in your email.
Full Restorative Conferencing
Full Restorative Conferencing brings together all the stakeholders in a community (victims, offenders, family, friends, key supporters, relevant professionals and other interested parties), to decide on how to address an offense and repair the harm caused by it.
Full Restorative Conferencing gives the victims the agency to be directly involved in responding to the offense, increases the offender’s awareness of the impact of the offense and how it extends to the greater community, allows them to take responsibility for the harm that they’ve caused, and allows the support system of both of the offenders to be engaged in the process of repairing the harm (e.g. The support system of the offender can aid the offender in making amends for the harm they’ve caused, and help the offender to plan and stay committed to the changes they will make to their future behavior), and offers both victims and offenders the opportunity for extended community support.
If would be interested in utilizing a Full Restorative Conference in resolving your conflict, please email us at info@nvcnextgen.org. Please include in your email a description of the conflict and the parties involved.
Re-Entry Circle
This restorative circle is a restorative practice used when an offender is about to re-enter a community after being absent for a time (e.g. being in prison, on suspension from school, or after a hearing).
A Re-Entry Circle begins with a pre-conference with all persons who will be attending, including caseworkers, probation or parole officers, and other parties as needed. We determine what parties will attend by talking to the victim and the offender separately, and asking each who they feel needs to be in attendance. We then hold additional interviews with each proposed participant, and ask them who else they feel should attend, until we establish the circle.
The goal of the circle is to re-explore the event in a manner where all voices are heard, and the victim, offender, and community can all express their needs and get their questions answered. This process facilitates a harmonious return in which the offender can be re-accepted as a member of the community, rather than a return awash in disconnection and hostility.
The support an acceptance afforded by this Re-Entry Circle process aids offender’s successful re-integration into the community and makes them less likely to return to their old, harmful habits.
If would be interested in a Re-Entry Circle, please email us at info@nvcnextgen.org.
Restorative Dialogue
A Restorative Dialogue is a one-sided restorative offer that is used when only the victim or only the offender is willing to pursue a restorative solution.
In a Restorative Dialogue, we meet with the willing party and hold a dialogue for up to two hours to explore the event and the harm it has caused, and collaborate with them to devise a restorative plan of how the harm could be repaired. This plan can then be sent to the other party and/or the applicable judiciary bodies in the form of a request for their consideration, ideally leading to a Victim-Offender Conference or Full Restorative Conference.
Regardless of the other party’s willingness to participate, a Restorative Dialogue can be very beneficial for the victim or offender. It allows offenders to voluntarily take responsibility for what they have done and helps them to change their future behavior, and affords victims the opportunity to tell their story and helps them to figure out how they can recover from the event and move forward.
If you would be like to set up a Restorative Dialogue, please email us at info@nvcnextgen.org.
Non-Violent Communication Training
The language, skills, and values of Non-Violent Communication (NVC) are key to our Restorative Justice practices.
NVC is designed to facilitate connection with ourselves and others, allowing us to operate from a place of empathy and compassion by exploring and understanding our feelings and universal needs. The skills and language of NVC will help improve your ability to effectively communicate and connect with those around you allowing for deeper, more rewarding relationships, and peaceful, mutually-beneficial conflict resolution.
To learn more about training in Nonviolent Communication please send us an email at info@nvcnextgen.org or visit nvcnextgen.org.
