….Decades of over reliance on exclusionary public policies when addressing social harms has created increasingly unstable communities that act like a self-fulfilling drama of poverty and hopelessness.
Given current economic conditions, this vortex of anti-social behaviors is likely to increase the likelihood of greater harms as people find fewer avenues for getting their basic needs met.
Resentment over the disparity between those who can get their needs met and those who can not will make securing basic safety challenging.
Credible research and models of community justice already exist; as well as the positive effects of whole school adoptions of restorative practices to improve school climate and reduce reliance on exclusionary disciplinary policies.
What is lacking are the infrastructure development funds to allow already stretched community resources to strategically develop how agencies and non-profits can coordinate with one another to better serve their community through the coordinated adoption of restorative justice’s best practices.
As this funding and leadership is available to establish broad range models, there needs to be an intentional effort to promote restorative justice from the experiences of multicultural voices who represent their community’s interests and not just the images of those who have traditionally maintained government sponsored controls over others.
Your donation helps Prison Fellowship International repair the harm caused by crime by emphasizing accountability, forgiveness, and making amends for prisoners and those affected by their actions. When victims, offenders, and community members meet to decide how to do that, the results are transformational.
Donate Now