Center for Dialogue and Resolution, formerly Community Mediation Services, is nestled at the heart of Whitaker district in Eugene. Albeit the recent rebranding, CDR has been in existence for over 30 years serving Eugene and the greater Lane county. CDR aims to reduce conflict in people’s personal life, organizations and the community through mediation, facilitation and educational programs that helps people build their communication skills. My internship with CDR officially starts tomorrow.
However, I already took a plunge into the world of Restorative Justice, for juveniles, today. Tim McCabe, program manager for Restorative Justice at CDR, offered me a chance to be an observer at a follow up session of a restorative justice case in Junction City. The case involved juveniles who had been caught vandalizing a local middle school and this was the final meeting to assess if they had completed their ‘sanctions’. Even though one of the three juvenile, along with his guardian, failed to make the meeting, the meeting was attended by the juveniles and their guardians, a representative of the school community, and a community member. Everyone talked about how the actions of the juveniles had affected everyone involved; themselves, their families, the school, and community members. Tim did a wonderful job facilitating the conversation and it seemed like the students were sorry for their actions, and had done quite a few tasks to rectify their mistake. Although, I was not involved in the process, it was helpful stepping outside of it and seeing the process more holistically. As it was my first day, technically, I still have yet to catch up on the inner workings of Restorative Justice Program at CDR, but I am more than thrilled to be part of this really wonderful program.
In this blog I will not only be giving insight into what my work at CDR entails, and my own reflections on it, but I will also be reflecting on the themes of restorative justice in the larger American societal context, and how it is very different to how things have been/are in Nepal.
However, I already took a plunge into the world of Restorative Justice, for juveniles, today. Tim McCabe, program manager for Restorative Justice at CDR, offered me a chance to be an observer at a follow up session of a restorative justice case in Junction City. The case involved juveniles who had been caught vandalizing a local middle school and this was the final meeting to assess if they had completed their ‘sanctions’. Even though one of the three juvenile, along with his guardian, failed to make the meeting, the meeting was attended by the juveniles and their guardians, a representative of the school community, and a community member. Everyone talked about how the actions of the juveniles had affected everyone involved; themselves, their families, the school, and community members. Tim did a wonderful job facilitating the conversation and it seemed like the students were sorry for their actions, and had done quite a few tasks to rectify their mistake. Although, I was not involved in the process, it was helpful stepping outside of it and seeing the process more holistically. As it was my first day, technically, I still have yet to catch up on the inner workings of Restorative Justice Program at CDR, but I am more than thrilled to be part of this really wonderful program.
In this blog I will not only be giving insight into what my work at CDR entails, and my own reflections on it, but I will also be reflecting on the themes of restorative justice in the larger American societal context, and how it is very different to how things have been/are in Nepal.
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