Restorative Justice Project Maine recently received a $9,000 grant from the Community Development Fund of the Maine Community Foundation to support Mt. Ararat High School in offering students more restorative responses to harm and conflict.
The Belfast-based organization will work with school staff, students and partners to increase understanding of restorative principles and practices. RJP defines restorative justice as “an approach to harm that focuses on the needs of those affected by the harm — including the person whose actions caused the harm, the person who was harmed, and the community where the harm occurred.” This approach “emphasizes repairing the harm … through accountability, understanding the impact of the harm caused, and making amends.”
RJP Maine and Mt. Ararat will train the school community on restorative responses to harm and establish a partnership to facilitate referrals to RJP Maine’s youth harm repair program when an incident that would benefit from a facilitated restorative process occurs.
RJP Maine welcomes members of the local communities to play an active role in the harm repair process to deepen community ties. Volunteer roles include co-facilitating harm repair discussions or individualized mentorship of a young person during the harm repair.
RJP Maine is hosting the upcoming training series for volunteers interested in supporting its work at Mt. Ararat:
• 3-Part Virtual Series: Foundations of Community-Based Restorative Practices. This series is an introduction to restorative theory and practice. All volunteers are asked to attend. Scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 24, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7.
• 3-Part Virtual Series: Harm Repair Practice Series. This series offers a deeper exploration of restorative responses to conflict. It is geared towards volunteer co-facilitators, though volunteer mentors are also welcome. The foundations series is a prerequisite. Scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 14, 21 and 28.
Those interested must complete the brief form at secure.everyaction.com/X-hd6r57R0mQIVyOwd1mCA2.
For more information about volunteer responsibilities, visit rjpmaine.org/get-involved/volunteer-roles/.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.