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Restorative Justice wants to engage everyone 'in the dialogue'

Provides a new way of looking at crime and conflict

(The Advertiser, Kentville, NS, Tuesday, November 16, 2004)

"Engaging us all in the Dialogue" is the theme for Restorative Justice Week 2004, Nov. 14-21.

Restorative Justice is a new way of thinking about crime and conflict. It is premised on the following principles:

holding the offender accountable in a more meaningful way;
repairing the harm caused by the offence;
achieving a sense of healing for the victim and the community; and
reintegrating the offender back into the community.

Valley Restorative Justice is a community-based non-profit organization that provides services to the counties of Annapolis, Kings, and West Hants. The Agency offers two main services to people affected by incidents of criminal harm committed by youth aged 12-17 -- Restorative Justice and Community Service Orders.

This year it is also able to offer life skills and pre-vention programming to youth in conflict with the law or at risk of coming in contact with the justice system.

With the assistance of additional funding from the Law Foundation and local Community Health Boards, we are offering Anger Management programs to youth in various schools within our catchment area. Other programs include: Positive Self, Stoplifting, Justice Awareness, Victim Empathy, and Choices Drug Education.

Dialogue is at the very core of restorative justice approaches: when harm is incurred, all concerned parties should be provided with an opportunity to participate in, and learn from, respectful dialogue in an effort to restore the injured relationship.

Restorative Justice is concerned with the construction of a better society for both the present and the future. It aims to restore victims by repairing the harm caused by the offence and recognizes that it is not possible to replace what the victim lost in the commission of the offence.

It also aims to restore the offender to a law-abiding life, and restore the damage caused by the offence in the community.

In response to the agency's request for financial support from local municipalities, funding was received that allows the agency to provide restitution to victims through its "victim re-pay" program.

This program speaks directly to victim satisfaction and is extremely well received by those who may be victims where restitution is desired and youth may not be in a position to pay. Community service hours are done by youth to access the funds.

The Valley Restorative Justice office is located in Kentville and is administered by a local Board of Directors. Assistance is provided to the agency by trained volunteers living within its catchment area. For more information about programs, becoming a board member or volunteer, and/or for a presentation, contact Marge DeBodt at 679-0650 or email at valleyrj@ns.sympatico.ca.