The Restorative Justice
Resource CenterWhat is Restorative Justice? |Information for Victims, Offenders & Communities |
Victim-Offender Dialogue | Organization & Leadership | Contact Us | How to Support RJRC | Home
The Restorative Justice Task Force of Western North Carolina
The RJ Task Force is the local expression of the RJRC in the Asheville, NC area. After several events and meetings in the local community, we recently developed a list of possible projects. Each of the projects will be championed by a committed and passionate task force member, supported by the leadership team.
**Vigils for crime victims:
In Durham, when a death occurs as a result of a crime, the local task force holds a memorial vigil at the site of the killing, to honor the life of the victim, for his/her family and the community. The vigil participants offer support for the survivors and draw attention to the crime and the community response to the crime. One or more task force members could take this project on. Typically, there are 7 murders per year in Buncombe County. A coordinator would watch the news and notify the rest of the task force of the need for a vigil. One person may serve as the coordinator of the vigilants and offer to be a support person to the family. The folks in Durham will help us replicate their program.
**Partnership projects and Liaisons:
There are several agencies who are involved in restorative justice in this community. Task Force members could "adopt" agencies which do work that calls to them and report activities, opportunities, and news to the rest of the Task Force. Task force members could also serve as mentors and support persons for offenders in existing programs such as Women At Risk, offender re-entry programs, Juvenile Court, etc.
**Networking and enrollment:
We all know that in this community, the best way to get something done is to talk to the right person. We need help in identifying who are the key influential people whose opinions about our justice system matter. We need to be introduced to them, to have lunch with them, to share with them about restorative justice in ways that highlight the benefits to them and the community. If you are a person who knows a lot of people (or someone in particular) or wants to know them, you could be the connector who reaches the right people and moves our cause forward, one person at a time.
**Family Conflict Resolution:
Before teenagers get to juvenile court, there are often problems at home. We've talked to several parents who are at their wits end about teenagers who seem to be on a bad path but they don't know what to do. In some places, there are family peacemaking circles for such situations. If someone wants to take this on, we'll provide the peacemaking circle training and mentorship. I think finding parents at their wits end won't be hard. (Just by word of mouth, when I lived in Chapel Hill, I worked with a dozen kids who were having trouble at home but didn't quite fall into anyone's
program.)
**Schools:
The Kindness Campaign was doing some great work in Asheville schools and their resources are available to us. Someone also mentioned the possibility of bringing "Challenge Day" to a local school. (Challenge Day was featured on Oprah and is an amazing workshop that helps kids see that they are not alone, that everyone has more in common that they believe.)
**Discussion group:
Restorative justice isn't one program, it is a paradigm of justice. Can you lead or participate in a monthly discussion group to distinguish what is restorative and what is not? We'll provide resource material for you.
**Outreach to faith communities:
We're often invited to speak at churches, particularly by their social justice or action committees. What if we actually did some outreach and asked to be invited? In many communities around the country, restorative justice is a faith-based movement. Let's make sure our faith communities know what it is and are on board!
**Event sponsorship/co-sponsorship team:
There are many events that support our goals or our partner agencies. A co-sponsorship liaison could screen requests for co-sponsorship, make recommendations to the Task Force, and offer assistance to the primary event sponsor. This person (or someone else) could also work with the RJ Task Force to find co-sponsors for our events.
**Speakers Bureau:
Are you a good speaker? We can teach you to talk about restorative justice and provide video and materials. We get requests periodically and it would be very helpful for us to have others who can cover events when we are out of town or scheduled-up.
**Grant writing and fund-raising:
We actually know of several grants that we can apply for, but we could really use the help in preparing the application materials and doing additional research in our grant software program. Are you our angel?
**Research projects:
Each community expresses restorative justice in different ways. As a researcher, you could investigate what other communities are doing and make recommendations of additional ideas to the Task Force.
**Web Site:
The most challenging part of having a web site is updating the content. If you are a good writer and are willing to learn and write about restorative justice, we can use your help.
**Publicity:
If you can write an article or press releases about this work, this could be the job for you!
**Communications:
Newsletter? Ezine? Webzine? Yahoo discussion group? Thank you notes for donations? How can you help?
RJRC and
Restorative Justice Task Force
of Western North Carolina
P.O. Box 903
Weaverville, NC 28787
828-318-2178RJRC
California Office
P.O. Box 82
Santa Barbara, CA 93102
805-453-7219
