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MCJC ANNUAL REPORTS

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Montpelier Community Justice Center, 2008

   On May 5, 2008, the Montpelier Community Justice Center hosted
   Governor Jim Douglas and other local and state leaders at City Hall for
   the signing of a bill codifying the Community Justice Centers.

During 2008, the Community Justice Centers were officially recognized with the passing of bill H.257 which recognizes their role in addressing quality of life issues in communities, administering restorative justice, and providing dispute resolution services. Later in the year, the Montpelier Community Justice Center (MCJC) joined the other Community Justice Centers around the state in founding the Community Justice Network of Vermont. The mission of the Community Justice Network of Vermont is to "promote a restorative approach to conflict and crime--community by community." Meanwhile, we have continued to successfully contribute to resolving crime and conflict, enhancing community safety, and improving quality of life in the Montpelier area. A steadily increasing number of cases were referred to the Restorative Justice Alternative Program, where, in the context of community, victims of misdemeanor-type crimes are invited to have an active role in crafting a restorative resolution and those who offended are given an opportunity to take responsibility in a meaningful way for the harm they caused.

During FY '08 the MCJC handled 117 offense-driven restorative justice cases (with 37 direct victims participating at some level). The MCJC managed Circles of Support and Accountability for six reentry participants in 2008. Restorative conferences were held in eight dispute resolution cases, which involved many participants from the community in addition to the individuals who offended. Some of the notable 2008 initiatives and accomplishments that give us hope for the future are:

Community service that draws upon the strengths of the participants or directly contributes to the victims. Examples: One probationer who was in college studying Sustainability performed his community service hours at EnVision Montpelier, a program developed to improve Montpelier's sustainability in the next decades. Another group of participants in the RJA program worked for the people whose cabin they had broken into in the winter to help them get it ready for summer. A different group of RJA participants worked at the store they had vandalized and reported that they were proud that they could use their construction skills to right the wrong they had done. A probationer who was convicted of DUI recorded a CD of stories he had seen as a truck driver about accidents involving drunk drivers, to share with others who drive while intoxicated. Yet another probationer, after telling the reparative board that he had driven drunk because he was mourning the loss of his mother after a long illness, used his woodworking skills to make birdhouses for a local nursing home to cheer up those who were suffering as she had.

The possibility of adapting the Restorative Justice Alternative Program for people with compromised mental health who engage in criminal behavior. We have reached out to Washington County Mental Health to help us work with their clients and introduce them to restorative responses to conflict.

The successes in increasing our community's capacity for managing conflict constructively. We created Insights Into Conflict, a class for people who have difficulty making appropriate choices when they are in conflict and where the conflict leads to offending actions. Evaluations from people who have taken the class indicate a shift in the thinking of participants towards some understanding of non-violent ways of managing conflict. Follow up contact has also revealed instances where the new thinking influenced behavior and fighting was averted.

We created and delivered a workshop called Thinking Your Way Through Conflict. Evaluation responses were overwhelmingly positive. A sample of comments:

"I deal with many conflicts every day in my job and always felt I escalated the situation. This has helped."

"I liked this training because it gave me some tools and a better understanding of things that escalate conflict."

"I learned the importance of listening without interrupting, hearing someone's whole story before asking for clarification or giving advice."

"I learned that I contribute to conflict more than I was aware of. I need to sit back and listen... Conflict really does provide opportunity."

In partnership with the Central Vermont Council on Aging and the Kellogg Hubbard Library, we created and delivered a 3-part workshop series on Difficult Conversations About Aging. We helped more than 30 families increase their ability to manage conflict and have less difficult conversations about aging with elderly family members. Because healthy conflict resolution skills tend to multiply as people use them, the MCJC believes that the number of people helped by these workshops will grow beyond the number of workshop participants themselves. As participants' skills increase, others in their families will learn and benefit from their knowledge as they work through difficult family issues.

Those who go through a restorative justice process gain in understanding of the impact of their offending behavior and their responsibility for it. When asked to reflect on the restorative process by completing this sentence, "This is what I did to help myself learn to make better choices and not re-offend," people who had offended said:

"Take my meds, ask for help, forgive myself and remember those affected" (Counterfeiting)

"I took the time to understand how this affected my community... and made financial limits for myself so this wouldn't happen again." (Bad checks)

"I've been a lot more careful about who I hang out with because my friends probably have the most influence on my life. Hopefully making better friends will reduce the chances of me doing something stupid like that again." (possession of marijuana)

"Abstain from alcohol" (DUI #1) / "Limit my time with friends who drink alcohol in excess. Don't drink every day after work. Don't ever get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol." (DUI #1)

"By writing the letter of understanding it gave me a chance to really think deeply about what leads me to make bad decisions and why they hurt so many people and how to keep myself out of the situations that can end up like this." (Vandalism)

"Going through this experience has opened my eyes even more to the dangers of alcohol and trusting people I don't know. I have learned as well that being immature is not an attractive quality and I want to progress in my life--not act like a child. I have also learned that it is selfish to mess up and have to have others pick up the pieces or damage." (minor in possession of alcohol; unlawful trespass)

"I stopped drinking and stay away from friends that do. The DUI class [DUI Victim Impact panel] really woke me up." (DUI #2)

The Montpelier Community Justice Center exists to serve the needs of people in the community and is continuously seeking feedback and suggestions about what those needs are. Forty-four community members actively gave of their time in 2008 to serve on the Citizen Advisory Board that guides the direction and policies of the MCJC, deliver restorative justice through their roles on Reparative Boards and Circles of Support and Accountability, facilitate restorative conferences, provide outreach to victims, and help with office work. This community participation is a critical element of restorative justice and there is room for more. People who want to give of their time to promote and provide restorative responses to conflict and crime are encouraged to contact us.

Yvonne Byrd, Director

Judy Gibson, Programs Coordinator
Montpelier Community Justice Center
39 Main Street, City Hall, Montpelier
802-223-9606 / mcjc@montpelier-vt.org