Restorative Conferences

Involves: Harmed Party, Responsible Party, Support People (optional)

Restorative Conferencing offers people who have caused harm and those they have harmed a voluntary opportunity to meet face-to-face in a structured, secure environment. These conversations are facilitated with the goal of restoration, healing, reconciliation, mutual understanding and/or to negotiate restitution. Both parties have the option to invite support people into the conversation. The facilitators guide the conversation to:

• Help outline how parties have been affected - the harms, needs, and obligations of all involved
• Build toward shared understanding of the situation
• Provide opportunities for healing and accountability
• Guide the creation of a plan to make things right to the greatest extent possible

Potential Benefits for Harmed Parties

• Describe to the person who caused the harm how the incident affected them and continues to affect them
• Directly and constructively express their feelings to the person who harmed them
• Ask questions and receive answers that only the responsible party can provide
• Experience a sense of empowerment by having a direct voice in the justice process
• Have active involvement in crafting appropriate restitution/solutions
• Experience some degree of emotional healing and restoration

Potential Benefits for Responsible Parties

• More fully understand the impact of their actions upon the lives of those harmed, the community and themselves
• Explain their involvement in the offense, and share their perspective
• Take direct and meaningful accountability
• Have a voice and participate in a just process
• Participate in crafting a resolution which creates a path to make things right to the greatest extent possible

Potential Benefits for Community

• Respond to the needs of those harmed
• Support responsible party while encouraging them to understand, accept and carry out their obligations
• Increases community cohesion and safety by encouraging meaningful accountability