The Restorative Justice Program is about understanding consequences, reconciliation and second chances. The program gives youth who have been involved in certain offences to choose to meet with all the others involved and arrive at a solution to the situation. Everyone involved — the person who caused the harm, the person harmed, and parents, guardians, others affected and restorative justice program workers — meet, hear what happened from all points of view and decide what would make things right.
Kayla (not her real name) is a parent who has seen how the program works from both sides. When two of her children were in high school, they were involved in incidents where the police allowed the choice of the Restorative Justice Program as an alternative to going through the justice system.
Her son, Mike (not his real name) was unexpectedly physically attacked and injured by another youth during a verbal exchange.
“I was shocked,” said Kayla. “Mike is not a fighter. I was grateful that the program was there to help us.”
Kayla and Mike talked about what had happened and it was his decision to take part in the program.
“He had to talk his friends out of going to beat up this boy. We decided it had to stop somewhere and talked about how sometimes kids can be caught up in the moment and make a mistake and if they get into the juvenile system it can take them on a different path, maybe for all their lives. I felt sorry for the boy’s parents because our kids make their decisions but we want to stand by them. It was emotional.”
Both young men had to agree to the Restorative Justice process and they and their families met several times with Margaret Clark, Restorative Justice Society North Okanagan executive director. Then everyone met together.
“I think it was very eye-opening for everyone to look at the incident from someone else’s perspective. There in the circle, it’s right there in front of you. You think it through and try to understand,” said Kayla. “I was grateful to have Mike involved in the compassionate side of the law. I think it helped the other boy to see the effects of his actions and maybe not to act so quickly another time. Mike is doing well and he doesn’t hold a grudge. He hasn’t talked about it since.”
The participants in the circle decided that things could be settled with an apology and some community service work.
The second time Kayla was involved with the program was when her daughter Lacey (not her real name) was in a group of girls who were caught shoplifting. The police were involved and the young women and the business owner were given the choice to go through restorative justice.
“She says she didn’t steal anything but didn’t do anything to try to stop the others so to this day I’m not 100 per cent sure what happened,” said Kayla.
This case was more complicated because for restorative justice to work, the person or persons who caused the harm have to admit to what they did. The girls changed their stories several times. The story became clearer in the conference, when everyone met face-to-face with the Restorative Justice team.
“It took a lot of meetings to get to the truth, through all the perspectives and the emotions and it could have come to charges. In the end, they all wrote letters of apology to everyone who was harmed and were banned from the store for a year. My daughter and I had lots of talks about character integrity. The process helped her learn that the truth is always your friend and there is no sense in trying to cover things up because it makes it so much more painful. She learned that you can’t just let yourself get involved in something you know is wrong — you have to stand up and say what you believe and if you can’t make others change, you have to walk away.”
Kayla said she knows the program makes a difference for kids who have been harmed or who have caused harm by providing a sense that justice has been done and giving an opportunity to change without permanent legal consequences.
“Mike learned to value compassion and Lacey learned the value of truth and integrity. They’re good people, they have never had any other trouble, and they benefitted from the program,” she said. “I can’t thank Margaret and the program enough for taking care of my kids and supporting all of us.”
The Restorative Justice Society-North Okanagan runs the program with a board of directors with chairman Warren Smith. The board is made up of representatives from the RCMP, legal profession and youth agencies, as well as interested community members. Restorative Justice is a community-based service with trained volunteers who work with the young people and their families. The program has been in Vernon for several years and has supported and advocated on behalf of more than 500 persons harmed and more than 200 persons who caused harm. Funding and ongoing support is through the City of Vernon and the Public Safety and Solicitor General’s Community Accountability Programs and many restorative justice programs throughout the province.
For more information or to become involved, contact Margaret Clark at 250-550-7846 or e-mail mclark@vernon.ca.
