As CDCR moves even more toward a model of restorative justice and rehabilitation, a healing-focused nonprofit is bringing together people from all aspects of the criminal justice community to learn from one another.
For several days, Re:Store Justice hosted a Restorative Justice Symposium at California Medical Facility. Built on restorative justice’s principles of healing and strengthening communities through dialogue and building understanding, the event brought together currently and formerly incarcerated people, CDCR staff, prosecutors, survivors of crime, and community members impacted by crime and incarceration. Sitting in circles, participants shared their experiences and perspectives, learning from one another and building empathy and understanding. The events are held throughout the year at various institutions.
“To move our system beyond one of adversaries, we work with prosecutors, incarcerated people, and survivors of crime to shift the focus of the criminal justice system to one of true public safety,” Re:Store describes the symposia on its website. “We believe that people who have been directly impacted by violence are essential to the creation of effective and meaningful criminal justice reform and violence prevention. The Transformative Justice Symposia encompass put forth restorative justice techniques aimed at healing communities. We recognize that we are all members of ONE community. It is our mission to change our collective response to violence and in turn, build a more equitable, safe, and humane society.”
“To move our system beyond one of adversaries, we work with prosecutors, incarcerated people, and survivors of crime to shift the focus of the criminal justice system to one of true public safety,” according to Re:Store. “We believe that people who have been directly impacted by violence are essential to the creation of effective and meaningful criminal justice reform and violence prevention. The Transformative Justice Symposia encompass put forth restorative justice techniques aimed at healing communities. We recognize that we are all members of ONE community. It is our mission to change our collective response to violence and in turn, build a more equitable, safe, and humane society.”
Learn more about the program on their website.
Video by Richard Tan