Successful Restorative Stories
Neighbor Dispute (Mediation)
Upstairs/downstairs neighbor dispute over noise and alleged theft. Through
mediation, the parties uncovered misunderstandings that showed them how the
conflict escalated, resolved that they wanted to live peacefully and
discovered that they valued their previous friendship and made amends.
“I am very pleased
with the results of the mediation and the support from the mediators. I would
recommend it to others that cannot resolve issues by themselves. I wish we had
done the mediation sooner because I missed a lot of time with my friend.”
Passing a Bad Check (Reparative Board)
A man charged with passing
bad checks sits down with the storeowner to hear how his actions affected the
owner, the store and the community. At the Reparative meeting, the storeowner
was in a safe place to vent his anger and frustration, tell the offender what
it cost him in time, money and in changes to check cashing policy. Community
members told how a no check policy affected them. The offender told everyone
why he knowingly passed a bad check, and apologized in person to the
storeowner. An agreement was created ending the meeting with the storeowner
and offender shaking hands.
“As a board member, you engage in and model
relationships with members of your community. You get to make a “hands-on”
difference in the lives of others… and in your own life as well.”
“You get to see the power of a sincere
apology.”
Barre City Teacher's Strike (Community Forum)
One hundred people
participated in a community forum during a teachers strike involving the city
school district. Through small group work answering questions such as, “how
has the strike affected you?” “given your beliefs about the strike, where are
the gray areas for you?” and sharing questions and concerns for the school
board and union, participants had a safe space to voice themselves and
understand each other’s point of view.
"I
was impressed with the GBCJC staff's ability to pull together a community
forum on the Barre teachers' strike at such short notice. The meeting helped
people to understand others' perspectives, emotions, and misunderstandings. It
helped to calm down the discourse and see people on opposing sides as fellow
citizens who wanted the strike to end as much as they did."
Theft and Vandalism at School (Student Restorative Panels)
A student took ice cream
from the school cafeteria without paying. When meeting with the Student
Restorative Panel, the harmer and student community members learned how his
actions rippled out over the whole community. As the harmed party, the Food
Service representative described how steeling food affects the community: the
food service is guaranteed payment for all items by the school, and if there
are extra profits they benefit the school. So, every ice cream taken detracts
from school gain.
After
many years, the math department awaited new desks for their classroom. After
class one day, the teacher noticed that one of the desk surfaces had been
gouged into. Finding the student who had done it, a referral was made to the
Student Restorative Panels. At the meeting, all parties heard how upset the
teacher was and what it meant to her to finally have new desks, and her
disappointment of seeing one defaced. The student who caused the damage
explained that he wasn’t thinking, and didn’t intend to make the teacher so
upset. He apologized and offered to repair the desk and help the teacher in
her classroom.
“After the panel meeting, I began to realize
that I had support here. I felt safe.”
“Students feel listened to and cared about,
and more connected to the school community. It’s more personal, you gain
deeper understanding of everything that happened.”
Student Understands New Ways (Training)
Student Restorative Panel training was delivered to a nearby high school.
Twenty students attended. We reviewed many areas: listening skills, principles
of restorative justice, what does interactive dialogue look like, conflict
analysis, establishing common ground, understanding impact, accepting
responsibility, collective agreement making, and conducting a number of role
plays. The students experienced what it would be like be in the shoes of
someone who had done some harm and someone who had been harmed, and to say how
someone’s action had affected your school community. They also experienced
what it was like to hear from the person you harmed and understand how your
actions affected them, to be given the chance to take responsibility and
apologize, what it was like to collectively make an agreement to repair the
harm. One student who had lived a rough life and had been in trouble in the
past said, “ I didn’t know you could talk like that!” Clearly, he had made
great movement in his life that day.
“The
Communication skills training changed my thinking about the way I listen to
people and the way someone else might feel. I learned about how to handle
conflict in a more positive way and to react and respond differently.“
History • Principles •
Staff • Board of Directors
20 Auditorium Hill, Barre,
VT 05641 • 802-476-0276 • barrecjc@sover.net |