Our Core Values
Accountability with Compassion
We believe accountability is an act of love, not punishment. Everyone deserves the opportunity to face harm, make amends, and grow through understanding and support.
Healing through Connection
We value the power of community and relationships and collective healing. Healing happens when people are seen, heard, and valued within spaces of care and respect. We do not have to heal in isolation.
Equity and Inclusion
Restorative practices invite everyone to the table. We honor diverse voices, lived experiences, and cultural traditions that shape our collective healing.
Education and Empowerment
We are committed to learning and teaching as pathways to justice. Through continuous education, reflection, and dialogue, we build stronger communities that know how to respond to harm with empathy.
Dignity and Respect
We recognize the inherent worth of every person. Our work is rooted in restoring dignity to those who have been silenced, excluded, or harmed by systems and circumstances.
Community Responsibility
We believe safety and justice are community efforts. When communities share responsibility for repair and reconciliation, cycles of harm can be transformed into opportunities for growth.
What is Restorative Justice?
Restorative justice is a philosophy and practice that centers people, relationships, and healing. Instead of asking “What law was broken?” it asks “Who was harmed, what do they need, and who is responsible for meeting those needs?”At its heart, restorative justice is about repairing relationships rather than enforcing punishment. It seeks to transform systems of harm by creating space for truth-telling, accountability, and reconciliation. Whether in schools, workplaces, correctional facilities, or communities, restorative justice invites all voices to participate in the process of healing.
What Are Restorative Practices?
Restorative practices are the tools and approaches used to build community and respond to conflict. These include peace circles, restorative conversations, mediation, and community dialogues. Restorative practices are both proactive and responsive. They help build strong connections before harm occurs and provide structured ways to address harm when it does. Through intentional listening, shared storytelling, and mutual understanding, restorative practices foster empathy, trust, and belonging.
Restorative Practices and Harm Reduction
Restorative practices engage in harm reduction by addressing the root causes of harm rather than simply reacting to the outcomes. Instead of isolating or punishing individuals, these practices focus on understanding the behavior, meeting unmet needs, and preventing future harm.
Harm reduction within restorative work means offering realistic, compassionate responses to human behavior. It acknowledges that healing takes time and that people are more likely to change when they feel supported, not shamed. In this way, restorative justice creates pathways toward accountability, safety, and wellness for all involved.
The Global History of Circles
The practice of gathering in circles to resolve conflict, make decisions, and build community has existed across cultures for centuries. Circles honor equality, connection, and storytelling.
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Indigenous Roots: Many Indigenous peoples of North America, including the First Nations, Ojibwe, and Lakota, have long used talking circles and council gatherings to restore balance and harmony.
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African Traditions: In various African communities, restorative processes such as the Ubuntu philosophy emphasize that “I am because we are,” highlighting the shared humanity and interdependence of all people.
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Māori Practices in New Zealand: The Māori concept of whānau (family) and hui (meeting) form the foundation of modern restorative justice in New Zealand’s justice system, focusing on collective responsibility and healing.
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Other Global Traditions: From the panchayat systems in India to conciliation processes in Latin America, communal decision-making and repair have always been part of the human story.
Today, restorative circles build upon these traditions, blending ancient wisdom with contemporary needs. They remind us that justice is not only about laws and punishment, but about connection, community, and care.
References
California Law Review. (2024). Restorative justice as regenerative tribal jurisdiction. California Law Review. 112(4). https://www.californialawreview.org/print/regenerative-tribal-jurisdiction California Law Review
Cournoyer, E. L. (2019). Restorative circles. In MacNeil, C. A., & MacNeil, L. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Social Work. Wiley Online Library. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118929803.ewac0436
Fellegi, B., Szegő, D., Ehret, B., & Dhont, D. (2013). Handbook for Facilitating Peacemaking Circles.
European Forum for Restorative Justice.
Haines, F., & O’Mahony, D. (2024). Defining restorative justice: A perspective from England and Wales’s youth justice system. Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, 46(1), 47-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/10282580.2024.2381528
Taylor & Francis Online
Parker, C., & Bickmore, K. (2020). Complexity in restorative justice education circles: Power and privilege in voicing perspectives about sexual health, identities, and relationships. Journal of Moral Education, 50(4), 471–493. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2020.1832451
Pavlacic, J. M., Kellum, K. K., & Schulenberg, S. E. (2021). Advocating for the Use of Restorative Justice Practices: Examining the Overlap between Restorative Justice and Behavior Analysis. Behavior analysis in practice, 15(4), 1237–1246. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00632-1