Restorative Justice

The first phase of Restorative Justice Program is geared towards youth, aged 12-23 years old, who at the time of their offence were charged with or have been convicted of criminal or provincial offences in Canada.

Phase 2 of our program cater to those who have been harmed by youth currently in the justice system. Our goal is to provide a neutral environment for both offender and victim, to make each whole members of society again.

HOW DOES THE PROGRAM FUNCTION? (Phase 1)

1. We attend the court to provide support to our young people who are involved in crime or crime related activities and to encourage them to join our program.
2. A youth is referred to our program by other community agencies, bail officers, peers, parent/family members and community leaders.
3. The intake personnel meet with the youth to discuss our programs and what will be achieved by joining.
4. Our trained youth mentors or community volunteers then arrange to meet with the young person and their family/support people to assist them through the first step called Defining Who You Are. We assist them in learning how to “define” him or herself.
5. Once everyone is committed to the process, our youth mentor or community volunteer will enroll the youth into our programs.
6. When the youth has achieved a definitive level of understanding of the harm he or she has caused and has internalized a need to repair this harm, we enter into Phase 2 of our “Defining and Healing” process.

HOW DOES THE PROGRAM FUNCTION? (Phase 2)

1. Once the youth has understood the harm that he or she has inflicted on the victim (both physically and emotionally) on society, we embark on a three session, one hour program on community restoration.
2. We contact the victim for a private, confidential session with offender in an open, safe environment.
3. If the victim or family member of the victim agrees, we allow each party to say how they feel; how their lives were affected by the crime and what they expect to get from this process. As the youth offender is usually not in a position to compensate the victim we decide on a responsibility or “barter system”. (i.e. yard cleaning, house painting, etc.)

If you know a youth that can benefit from our programs, please do not hesitate to contact us.