Restorative justice is first and foremost about relationships — how we build them, how we nurture them, and how we mend them. It offers a framework and a set of processes that: - center the needs of people who have been harmed,
- bring the impacted community together, and
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facilitate true accountability and a path toward healing — acknowledgment, repair, and change that reduces future harm.
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I have been leading the Project for three years. I promise you that restorative justice can be as beautiful as it is effective.
In that time, we've grown from partnering with six communities to today working with 10 active restorative justice diversion programs nationwide. More are on the horizon in 2024. We support organizations within those communities to resolve harm through restorative justice processes.
We also ensure that restorative justice is available as a meaningful off-ramp from the criminal legal system, by supporting community partnerships with prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and others willing to invest in this meaningful alternative. The people who have been through it are best proponents of this alternative:
"Everyone deserves a second chance at redemption. Even if you don't believe they deserve a second chance, do it for yourself. This process gave me the closure that I needed."
—Youth Participant, Harm Survivor, Philadelphia |
Studies of restorative justice have found that survivors of harm who participate in the process have a 91% satisfaction rate, eclipsing the rate of satisfaction with our current legal system. The Restorative Justice Project is a powerful healing pathway that fulfills our EJUSA vision and will integrate exceptionally well with our current practice areas.
We couldn't be more excited for the future, and hope you feel the same. Please give so we can make 2024 an unforgettable year for justice.
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Toward justice,
Cymone Fuller
Senior Director, Restorative Justice |
