The Brattleboro Community Justice Center has a dynamic and rewarding volunteer opportunity available for those interested in helping to create a stronger, safer community and learning about restorative and community justice.
The Justice Center needs volunteers to serve on our Reparative Panels. Our volunteers make a year commitment to attend a monthly two-hour panel meeting. Our next volunteer training will take place May 19 & 26 from 5-9 pm (attendance at both sessions required).
The Justice Center's Reparative Panels are comprised of volunteers who use Restorative Justice principles to address conflict and non-violent crimes and offer a community-based alternative to standard probation.
Restorative Justice views crime as more than just a violation of laws; it's a violation of people and relationships. Repairing these violations is a key process in transforming the impact of a crime on a community. As one of our volunteers has said of her experience: "Restorative justice reconnects all of us, restores our common ground - so that we can live together peaceably. This is powerful work. I'm honored to take part."
The Reparative Program works with individuals referred by the Vermont Department of Corrections who have been convicted of a non-violent crime, victims of those crimes, and the larger community. The goal of the program is to provide an environment for victims and affected parties to share with the offender how they have been harmed by an offense, and to explore ways in which the offender can best repair that harm and keep from re-offending.
Panel volunteers have several key responsibilities: creating a safe environment for the voices of victims and affected parties to be heard and to ensure their needs are addressed, being a voice for how the larger community was impacted by an offense, supporting the offender as he/she explores who was harmed and brainstorming how to best repair that harm, and ensuring offender accountability to the process.
If you are interested in observing and/or volunteering for a panel please contact Amanda Chace at (802) 251-8140 or amanda@brattleborocjc.org for more information.
