Should we make peacemaking our first response rather than our last response after hurt and damage have been done? If you believe the answer is yes, then you are in sync with the ideals of The Capital Community Justice Center (CCJC). We promote and provide restorative practices - in response to conflict and crime and as a proactive means of working through issues big and small, interpersonally, in community, and in our institutions.

Restorative practices have us respond to crime from the perspective of who has been hurt, what are his/her needs, and whose obligation it is to tend to those needs. Those who offend are encouraged to take responsibility for the effects and make amends. Looking at potential or actual conflict through the restorative lens leads us to invite dialogue while creating an environment where people have an equal voice, focus on discovering people’s interests and creative ways to satisfy them, and promote the notion that a solution that works is one that is agreeable to all, not one that is imposed by those with the most power.

The CCJC is intended to belong to the community. We are governed by an advisory board made up of citizen volunteers which includes these people: June Bascom, Sarah Blakely, Benjamin Cheney, Peter Comart, Jane Edwards, Barbara Floersch, John Gorczyk, Beverlee Pembroke Hill, Doug Hoyt, Richard Jenney, Rae Kelly, Jim Sheridan, Glenn Sturgis, and Elizabeth Wigren. We were sorry to say goodbye to retiring Board members Anita Ancel, Sharon Davis, Pauline Gosselin, Renee Kivet-Kylar, Carol Maloney, Natessa Romano, and Alan Rome.

We ask citizens to train for and provide restorative justice services. Serving on our Reparative Boards are volunteers Connie Weems, June Bascom, Franklin Shiner, Joe Connell, Richard Jenney, Shellie Swan, Andy Hooper, Betty Blouin, and Jody Whitaker. Wilson Hughes and Linn Syz retired from this work after years of valued service. Others have served on an ad hoc basis and we have a large number of “Friends” – people who stay in touch through our email list and support us in various ways. We maintain an open invitation to potential volunteers and have a number of people currently considering how they might serve.

The CCJC has been active in a number of areas during 2004 which we highlight below:

Reparative Board Activity:

• The CCJC administers two Reparative Boards comprised of 14 trained volunteers who have handled 62 cases since January 2004.
• The Board meets with people deemed guilty of an offense and ordered by the court; people affected by the offense are invited to participate; the focus is on how individuals and community were harmed; and a plan is collaboratively developed for the person responsible to make amends and to learn how to make non-offensive choices in the future.
• 30 cases were active at the end of December 2004.
• 34 cases were closed during 2004 - 31 were successful completions; 2 did not complete the program, and 1 was an inappropriate referral.
• 25 cases had identifiable victims; 17 victims participated.
• Approximately 1/2 of the probationers are Montpelier residents.

Direct Referrals:

• Police or school administrators refer willing persons to the CCJC for a restorative justice process in lieu of issuing a citation or a punitive response.
• The CCJC staff and/or volunteers convene and facilitate a community conference of appropriate parties where harm is uncovered and a plan is developed for making amends and for developing strategies to not re-offend. If the person referred completes the plan the case is dismissed, if not, the person is referred back to police to be cited.
• 9 referrals were handled by a combination of staff and 3 volunteer interveners since April 2004.
• 5 cases are active as of December 2004.
• 4 cases were closed in 2004 – 3 were deemed successful by the parties and referral sources; 1 was re-opened and returned to police.
• The majority of participants are Montpelier residents

The CCJC has provided these other services to the community:

• Planning assistance and facilitation for three community forums.
• Conflict management/dispute resolution consultation to various City entities.
• Neutral conflict management and mediation type services in response to conflicts such as neighborhood disturbances
• Co-development of an educational program with Community Connections (The Power of Choice) for helping young people learn strategies to not re-offend.
• Consultation and conflict intervention services to Montpelier High, Main Street Middle and U-32 Jr. and Sr. High schools to promote civility, alternatives to expulsion, and neutral conflict resolution options.

These are some ways the City of Montpelier has benefited from the work of the CCJC:

• The City has been a recipient of volunteer service by people who have offended – painting of parking meter stands, removal of poster debris from telephone poles, clean up of commuter parking lot, landscape consultation, design of gate and trail maintenance assistance for Hubbard Park, etc.
• Police officers have a resource for referring cases not well addressed by the criminal justice system, e.g. noise disturbances, neighbor conflicts, loitering, and recovering long overdue library books!
• The Kellogg Hubbard Library contacted the police in an effort to recover missing books and other media or the money to replace them. The police referred the case to the CCJC. A volunteer worked with the CCJC to contact 24 out of 34 patrons, recovering well over a third of the $3,000.00 worth of materials that had been missing. Library Director Hilari Farrington says she considers the project to be a success.
• Community members have received training in restorative justice philosophy, working with crime victims, and restorative conflict resolution techniques.

Users of the CCJC programs have provided this feedback:

From those responsible for wrongdoing:

• (I learned) my action[s] involve a lot more people than just myself.
• (I learned) it’s important to me to maintain a positive status in my community.
• It was nice to sit before community members who were not there to lecture me but to help me improve my life and contribute to the community.
• Writing the papers made me really think about how my actions affected my family.
• It was the most personal straightforward way to view the impact of DUI offense in our community.
• It reminded me how precious life is and how the irresponsible decision to drive after drinking could take that away no matter what your original intentions were.
• Gave time for me to reflect on the problem of drinking and driving and have meaningful dialog with my 13 year old son on this problem.

From those affected by wrongdoing:

• I feel settled.
• I found peace with the incident and with all involved.
• I wanted a chance for this young person to meet us face to face and vice versa, with the opportunity to discuss truthfully how the incident affected us.
• My daughter’s best interest could be addressed . . . I believe it will give [her] the best opportunity to improve herself.
• I believe this young person truly saw the error of her ways when we had the opportunity to talk in an open way.
• A real sense of “community” justice.

From community forum participants:

• I have to admit, I didn’t believe that facilitation would be an effective tool, under the circumstances. I’m surprised at how willing the other participants were to work things out constructively.
• Small groups were crucial to those of us with minority views to feel safe enough to speak frankly. The questions were helpful.
• Organized in such a way that people weren’t yelling at each other or speaking over each other – very respectful format
• Open to all opinions; safe
• Friendly and inclusive
• Surprised by the importance of the issue to some and how civil a conversation this evening has been

During 2005 we will continue the work we are doing and start these new initiatives:

• Assist the schools in establishing student run restorative panels and/or peer mediation programs to respond to certain types of conflict and/or offensive behavior
• Plan for, and possibly implement, community based restorative practices that help people who have committed serious and violent offenses make amends and successfully reenter the community as better citizens who do not pose a threat to others
• Offer a greater number of training opportunities for community members in the thinking and skills of peacemaking
• Develop a program like Burlington’s First Response that has citizen volunteers providing services to victims such as removing graffiti

Are you interested in maintaining and growing restorative community justice? The CCJC is big on ideals and possibilities, short on resources. Here are some ways for those who believe in our mission to contribute:

• For those with the means and the heart, we would welcome your donation to help maintain and/or expand the offerings of the CCJC.
• From someone skilled in graphic design and publicity, we need an appropriate logo and some hands on help to develop printed materials and website content.
• If you have expertise in data management, we need assistance in setting up a system for collecting and analyzing data to be used in evaluating our work.
• We are continually recruiting people to deliver restorative processes by serving on our Reparative Board panels, as facilitators of restorative justice conferences, and/or as mediators for conflict resolution processes.
• We are especially hoping for a talented “people person” to volunteer as a Volunteer Coordinator, helping us recruit, maintain contact with, and support our volunteers.
• Do you have other ideas or skills you think we could use? Please let us know.

Montpelier Community Justice Center
39 Main Street, City Hall, Suite 6
Montpelier, VT 05601-0533
(802) 223-9606
E-mail: mcjc@montpelier-vt.org

Yvonne Byrd, Executive Director
E-mail: ybyrd@montpelier-vt.org

Karen Blazer, Program Coordinator
E-mail: klblazer@montpelier-vt.org

Judy Gibson, Caseworker
Email: jgibson@montpelier-vt.org