Final Reflection

In the relatively short span of time that I have been affiliated with CDR I have personally seen positive changes occur among the respondents. A seemingly-grumpy non-talkative kid opened up more while in the circle and was more comfortable with their own peers. Whenever I mentioned“Court” during my intakes more than once, the respondent would be visibly alarmed and would question me on the setup of the room; after I went over the entire process a lot of the intakes remarked how the idea of a “group of peers” sounded much more better than “adults deciding what [they] should do.” Also, during a brief conversation with one of the panelists I found out that Joe (not the real name) was himself an offender during last year, and he remarked how the process had helped him get on track, and now I myself have seen how Joe can easily reach out to similar kids who might be looking for some guidance from someone in the same shoes. Upon asking some of the teen panelists as to why they volunteered, some of their replies were as follows:

“I like to do something good. (RPC is) giving them a chance to grow and is giving them a second chance.”

“(I learn) why they (the respondents) do what they do, and it teaches me what not to do and learn from their mistakes.”

“I can see a lot of them are stupid and experimenting, and they learn from their mistake. What they do now is affecting their future.”

Similarly, a past-respondent who was part of the panelist as part of her sanction talked about her experience with the process:

“It has been beneficial for me. It has taught me a lesson to not get into trouble, and I don’t want to get in trouble anymore.”

Empathy does not come to children automatically, however if given a chance they are able to utilize it as much as an adult, or even more, and also make an impact on someone else’s lives for the better. That is just one of the lessons I learned while I worked at CDR. The entire staff at CDR, Tim, Chip, Cara, Robert, and all the volunteers and other interns are really passionate about what they do and therefore create the most out of limited resources. I wish the best to everyone involved at CDR, CDR itself, and all the juveniles currently part of the RPC process, and everyone who will be a part of it in the future. The work being done by CDR is really helping the community to grow. Similarly, the RPC process is transforming the lives of juveniles and giving them some tools to learn from their mistake and give back to the community at the same time.

Gleeful parents

This week I have primarily been dealing with conducting 2 month and 6 month follow-up phone surveys of parents whose kids had successfully gone through the program. I have received almost 100% results in parents exuding the benefits of the program. This has further solidified my belief that this process truly helps the kids, and giving them the opportunity to reflect, and atone for their mistake, all the while treating them with respect and kindness helps build their character. Some of the responses from the parents that speaks to the benefits of the program are as follows:

“It’s really good to hear other peoples stories and for the youth to understand she's not alone. It has made a big impact to hear how people’s parents have been impacted. The team atmosphere has helped the youth.”

“It was a great experience for _______. He was taught accountability and how to make better decisions, especially regarding friends. He and the family enjoyed the entire procedure. _______ has changed friends.”

“We recognized our child again. Changed to better choices, her peers had more influence on her then we did and encouraged toward better choices. Making better choices will definitely lead to empowerment. Thankful and grateful for this program. Affected the whole family for the positive. It was so good.”

“It was nice for him to be around other kids and see their situations. Turned a bad situation into a positive.”

The antepenultimate one

Another piece of work that I am involved at CDR that I have yet to mention is the Theft Impact Class (TIP). TIP is mandatory for juveniles participating in the RPC process that have been caught stealing. The aim of the class, in line with RJ principle, is to hold the offenders accountable while providing them support to help in their transformation. So far I have been involved in two sessions, and have one scheduled for this month. The class provides an opportunity for juveniles to learn why stealing is not as good or 'fun' as it seem from the offset. The message seems apparent, but it is truly surprising how quite a few juveniles do not have a full picture of the extent of their action and its effect on those who are affected by it. There is a cap of the amount that was stolen to be considered for the RPC, but the amount notwithstanding the main focus is to show the children that stealing in general, and no matter the amount, or if there are no apparent "victims" is wrong in itself. The class helps juveniles understand empathy, seeing the ripple effect their action has on individuals and their communities, and also serves as a reminder of the repercussion of stealing. Getting and maintaining the attention of middle and high-schoolers for two hours is quite a feat, but I would like to believe by the end of the lesson the juveniles gained some new insight.

Last week I also attended a mediation session, as a observer, between teachers, janitors, students and parents at Shashta Middle School, where a case was being conducted regarding some students vandalising a classroom and school property. Witnessing raw emotions where everyone put forth how they were affected by the incident and then coming together to formulate ways to make up to the community and school-members that were affected was a great experiencing seeing the efficacy of victim-offender dialogue process.