Mini-Grant Recipients – 2019
Youth Transformation Center (El Paso County, Colorado)
Project Title: Train, coach and empower high school student leaders in Restorative Justice practices
Description: Coach and mentor 18 high school student leaders who are learning to co-facilitate restorative justice conferences at their school located in Southeast Colorado Springs. Also produce a 15-minute skit that distinguishes between punitive and restorative methods of school discipline. The skit will then be presented at a whole-school assembly, to the school board, to the PTA/PTO, regional superintendents and other local school. It will also be filmed for a future digitized RJ training video product.
Restorative Justice Institute of Maine (Portland, Maine)
Project Title: Youth of Color Learning and Leading Restorative Justice
Description: This project is a part of a larger effort to make right the indifference to race that Restorative Justice in Maine has had in its development. Our agency is piloting a middle school program in two schools where there is a vibrant community of students of color, mostly immigrants and refugees from African countries. There is a three-fold strategy: to divert youth from the criminal justice system and from suspensions and expulsions by using Restorative Practices, to support school culture change through training and technical assistance, and to facilitate a youth leadership council, particularly focusing on the voices of youth of color. The component of the project funded by this grant is for the Youth Leadership Council.
Niagara Alliance for Restorative Practices (Niagara County, New York)
Project Title: Rooting Restorative Practices/Justice in Niagara County
Description: The Niagara Alliance for Restorative Practices (NARP) was created to provide resources to the Niagara County communities. This grant assists with three project areas: 1) Sustainability and expansion of NARP’s Community Circles. These Circles are held to strengthen the community and to facilitate Circles in an area that has high rates of poverty, crime and discord; 2) Sustainability and expansion of facilitators to reach more residents; 3) Sustainability and expansion of Restorative Practices to youth in schools, in the community and through the Juvenile Justice system.
Caroline Durham in conjunction with Georgia Appleseed (Clayton County, Georgia)
Project Title: Restorative Justice for Foster Children: Keeping Kids in School
Description: This project is to integrate a model restorative justice program in a county school tribunal program with a focus to integrate in cases of foster children. The project seeks to decrease the number of children suspended/expelled by adding a restorative justice component to the tribunal process in one county school system. Those directly served will first be foster children, as that is the focus of Georgia Appleseed's School Tribunal Program. It is anticipated that the integration will impact all children facing suspension or expulsion in the county for Spring 2020 and Fall 2021 school semesters. Through resources developed, the project aims to replicate the program in other county school districts.
Catholic Mobilizing Network (Washington, DC)
Project Title: National Catholic Restorative Justice Conference & Racial Inclusion
Description: In the summer of 2020, CMN will host a conference with an explicit emphasis on racial justice. Funds provide scholarships to participants of color in order to embody access, equity, and inclusion of diverse racial and ethnic identities. CMN seeks to increase awareness and use of restorative practices among Catholics through an intensive focus on education/spiritual formation, story sharing, and network building. Keynote addresses, main stage plenaries and workshops will amplify lived experiences and offer expanded analysis, tools, and resources for restorative justice implementation in a variety of contexts. The intentional media presence will amplify the restorative justice messaging and narrative, reaching audiences well beyond those physically present for the conference itself.