For people living in shelters, the impact of crime carries a great burden for both the victims and offenders. Restorative justice is one way to make things right. Together with Rittenhouse: A New Vision, we use our knowledge and lived experience to provide restorative justice training to shelter residents, staff, and frontline workers. The goal is simple: to create awareness of the harm caused, and find solutions that promote healing for everyone involved.
Restorative justice repairs harm caused by crime. Unlike the court system which focuses on guilt and punishment, restorative justice brings together the victims of the crime and the offenders. The goal is to create awareness about the harm that was caused and together, decide on a way to address and fix it.
Restorative justice helps in four ways: 1) It addresses the needs of the victims by giving them a voice and including them in part of the resolution. 2) It encourages offenders to understand the impact of their actions and take responsibility. 3) It repairs some degree of the harm inflicted through some combination of compensation, community service, apologies etc. 4) It prevents future harm by addressing the root cause of the crime and helping the offender rejoin the community.
Generally, the process starts with a trained, neutral facilitator who meets with the victims and offenders individually to explain the process and what will be required. After that, all parties, including the facilitator, will meet to discuss what happened, the impact of the actions, and what needs to happen next. Finally, the victims and offenders create an agreement for the offender to repair the harm. The facilitator will follow up to ensure the commitments in the plan are kept.
