Restorative justice circles change hearts, open minds and deepen relationships, and can be used in many ways. Circles can gather in homes, schools, places of employment, faith communities, jails and prisons, government agencies; and RJ circles can be adapted for many different purposes, including:
- community building
- celebration/grief/honoring a person/group or event
- collaborative decision making
- supporting a person/group through a challenging time
- conflict-resolution and mediation
- sentencing and court referrals
Re-integration circles are RJ circles which are adapted to support men and women who are coming home from incarceration. In re-integration circles, the circle keeper works with the returning resident to identify a small group of supportive people who are already part of the returning resident’s life, and who will participate in circles regularly for about six months while the returning resident establishes and works towards goals.
Reunion’s October/November 2018 circle keeper training has several different intentions/outcomes:
- This training will prepare participants to keep (lead/facilitate) restorative justice circles which can be adapted to your own personal/professional needs and circumstances. Please attend Sessions 1, 3, 5 and 6 as well as any other sessions that are of interest to you.
- This training will also prepare participants to keep re-integration circles, supporting individuals who are coming home from incarceration. To receive a certificate of completion as a trained re-integration circle keeper, please plan to attend all six sessions.
- For those who have already been trained as a re-integration circle keeper, this training is an opportunity to brush up your re-integration circle keeping skills and coach others. Please attend Session 1, 2 and 6 as well as any other sessions that are of interest to you.
The training is free and sessions will be accessible by DC metro.
Please register by replying to this email. We will send you info about location and other details.
| Session 1: Intro to Circles and to Reunion |
Saturday October 13 |
9am-1pm |
| Session 2: Returning from incarceration in DC and returning resident/ re-integration circle referrals |
Sunday October 14 |
2pm-6pm |
| Session 3: Circle Keeping Tools and Techniques |
Sunday October 27 |
9am-1pm |
| Session 4: Practicing in large group |
Sunday October 28 |
2pm-6pm |
Sign up for one:
Session 5 A: Re-integration circle role play in small groups
Session 5 B: Re-integration circle role play in small groups |
Saturday November 10
Saturday November 10 |
9am-1pm
1pm-5pm |
| Session 6: Self and peer evaluation and next steps |
Saturday November 17 |
9am-1pm |
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