So, you’re interested in volunteering for a year? You’ve heard about Precious Blood Volunteers and their involvement in restorative justice, but you’re not really sure what that means.
If you Google “restorative justice,” you’ll find it defined as, “a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large.”
Okay, wow. What does that mean? Well, here are the three things that need to happen in restorative justice.
- Empathy on all sides: There must be an awareness that while harm was done to a victim, there may also have been past harm done to the accused as well and that harm may be a factor in his or her behavior.
- Obligation to put right: There must be a moderated process, which helps the accused somehow right the wrong that was committed.
- Everyone is involved in the healing process: There must include a dialogue with all parties – victim, offender, and even community – in order to genuinely move on and have an impact.
Precious Blood Volunteers involved with restorative justice are trained and take part in restorative justice through an activity called a “restorative justice circle,” where all parties affected by the actions of the accused to work through the three steps.
Simply, restorative justice helps an offender to acknowledge what she/he did, make it right for those hurt or affected and involves the community in helping both the victim and the offender.
To apply to volunteer in restorative justice ministries visit preciousbloodkc.org/volunteers/apply/.