* Individual Opportunity*
Individual opportunities are brought to you by the CYL non-profit network as a way to expand the diversity of programs we can offer to you. There are so many cool things out there to do! This is a unique opportunity brought to you by the City of Englewood and their new Restorative Justice program.
What is Restorative Justice?
Restorative Justice Practices (or RJ) are specific, victim-centered, community-based responses to a crime or conflict which create opportunities for accountability, repairing harm and restoring relationships.
Here are more resources to learn about RJ:
- RJ Council: www.rjcolorado.org
- Colorado Coalition for Restorative Justice Practices: www.ccrjp.org
- Restorative Rainbow Alliance: restorativerainbowalliance.org
How does it work?
In a facilitated conversation between the responsible party/offender, harmed party/victim and community, a contract is agreed upon by all to repair the harm created by the offense. Once you go through training, you can be a trainer in facilitated conversations.
Restorative justice practices are victim-centered, rooted in indigenous practices and the values of relationship, respect, responsibility, repair and reintegration (“the 5 Rs of restorative justice”). They can be utilized prior to formal criminal legal involvement or at a variety of levels within the traditional criminal legal system.
Program Success
In Colorado, 90 percent of offenders who participate in an RJ process successfully complete their RJ contracts and 95 percent of participants (including victims and offenders) are satisfied with the conference outcome. Offender recidivism rates are approximately 8 to 10 percent, substantially lower than in a traditional retributive justice system. Research also indicates that utilizing restorative justice can disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline as well as interrupt cyclical involvement in the retributive justice system.
Get Involved!
Interested in supporting personal accountability, healing, and building community resilience? We invite Adult and Youth (15+) volunteers to:
- Represent the community voice in RJ conferences
- Facilitate RJ conferences
- Be a surrogate victim in RJ conferences
- Join the EMC-RJ Advisory Team
- Create a Youth Advisory Team
- And much more!
Please see the info sessions below to learn more about how you can be a RJ volunteer in your community.
