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.
“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.
No comments:
Post a Comment