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 the Program Functions
Phase 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.
- A youth is referred to our program by other community agencies, bail officers, peers, parent/family members and community leaders.
- The intake personnel meet with the youth to discuss our programs and what will be achieved by joining.
- 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.
- Once everyone is committed to the process, our youth mentor or community volunteer will enroll the youth into our programs.
- 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.
Phase 2
- 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.
- We contact the victim for a private, confidential session with offender in an open, safe environment.
- 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.)
