Community Justice Initiatives

CJI is closed from December 23 until January 6th. Take care and see you in 2025!

December 6th gives us pause to remember all those who have and are being impacted by gender-based violence and reflect on our commitment to take action against it. We were grateful that Alley, Gabby, and Aurra could attend the Zonta Club of Kitchener-Waterloo community event to acknowledge their 16 Days of Activism to End Gender Based Violence Campaign alongside many other local organizations. Restorative justice is crucial in addressing gender-based violence because it centres survivors’ needs and agency, engages those who have caused violence in meaningful accountability, and involves the community. When we rely on the community to be part of this work, we foster collective responsibility for prevention. We all have a role to play in changing the social conditions that enable gender-based violence to happen.

Like so many programs and services in community, our restorative identity-based harm work is made possible through piecemeal funding and every little bit goes a long way in maintaining and deepening our commitments. We wanted to take a moment to thank the Waterloo Region Community Foundation and The Motz Family Endowment for their financial support towards our work!

Our Home Share program had a great open house at the Kitchener Public Library with the Shared Living Collective, a group of organizations offering shared living opportunities in Waterloo Region!     📢 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 – people who have space in their homes who are open to sharing their space. Home Share matches home seekers and home providers to create a mutually beneficial living arrangement. We support by matching people based on housing priorities and needs, facilitating introductory conversations, collaboratively creating a shared living agreement, and offering dialogue services if people need supported conversations. Interested in learning more? Connect with Alison by emailing alisonh@cjiwr.com

During Restorative Justice Week, we held a donor appreciation night with Marlee Liss to hear about her journey from the legal system into a restorative justice process. In this photo, we are doing a grounding exercise as part of the night, which included lawyers, Crown Attorneys, feminists, survivors, individuals who have offended sexually, staff, mediators, funders, volunteers, Facilitated Dialogue facilitators, surrogates, and those new to conversations about restorative justice in cases of sexual harm. We also hosted the Rise for Revive campaign. Together, we raised $26,000 for Revive. Thank you for helping us surpass our goal! During the week, we hoped to build our community of people supporting this work, and we are grateful to have connected with 115 new friends. Special thanks to our Rise for Revive champions Nathalia Comrie, Marlee Liss, Sarah Scanlon, and Julian McCants-Turner who shared their passion about the need for restorative responses to sexual harm. We are incredibly grateful for the many ways we receive support from our community. Thank you for being part of this work and for joining us in pursuing justice that meets every person’s unique needs.

“When we think of community safety, it’s so important to include all people and to not push anyone out”. Julian McCants-Turner is an advocate for Revive and shares what he has learned from working with people who have caused sexual harm. As restorative justice week comes to an end, we’re so grateful for everyone who has joined us in talking about what restorative justice can offer for people impacted by sexual harm. Thank you for being part of a community that believes we need to support survivors in more robust ways, and offer care for people who have caused harm. Together we can imagine and create a community where wellbeing and justice is possible for all of us. 

Did you know that it costs between $136, 000 - $164,000 to deal with a sexual assault that goes through the criminal justice system in Canada? And that it costs $126,000/ year to incarcerate one man in Canada? Restorative Justice equips ordinary citizens to facilitate simple but effective restorative processes that meet individuals’ needs for justice. Through CJI, it costs approximately $1200 to $2400 to provide a Facilitated Dialogue for people impacted by sexual trauma (both survivors and people who caused harm). If more community members had the option to pursue a Restorative Justice process, the pressure on the traditional justice system could be relieved and societal costs reduced. Most importantly, people impacted by sexual trauma and other types of harm could have their healing and justice needs met. Learn more about how you can help support this work: https://lnkd.in/dBcHQEZB

CJI provides services that acknowledge that care and safety for a survivor includes supported accountability processes for people who have caused harm. Care for everyone is the only path towards a safe community. Thank you to Marlee Liss for so beautifully articulating what restorative justice offered you and continuing to advocate for survivors! To learn more about how you can support this work: https://zurl.co/obqF

Did you know that CJI has one of the only programs in Canada that provides support and accountability processes for people who have caused sexual harm? Revive offers a 12-week psychoeducation group for people who have offended sexually. Participants must admit that they caused harm and attend voluntarily. “We invite a survivor into that space to share their story,” says CJI Interim Executive Director, Kate Crozier. This is part of people who have offended truly understanding and taking responsibility for the harm they caused. “We also invite someone who has offended to share their journey and the work that it takes.” After completing the education group, people who have offended are invited to join an ongoing support group. A long-time group member says, “At CJI, I am learning more and more tools to make a safety net not to cause any more harm.” Unfortunately, there is not a lot of funding for this highly effective program. Learn more about you can help from the link in the comments. #sexualviolence. #restorativejustice #justoutcomes

What do survivors of sexual harm want and need? Many survivors hope that those who caused harm will fully recognize the impact of the harm inflicted, and provide reassurance that they won’t cause harm again. Unfortunately, the traditional justice system doesn’t always meet survivors’ needs for healing and justice. “Restorative Justice has allowed me to heal in ways I wouldn’t have otherwise,” says Deanna, a survivor and CJI volunteer. Each process is tailored to the individual needs of the survivor. Facilitated Dialogue is one option for a  restorative process, and can take on different forms depending on the needs of everyone involved. Learn more about how CJI addresses sexual harm from the link in the comments. #sexualviolence #restorativejustice #justoutcomes