Harm & Conflict:
Survivors
We are glad that you have found your way to Restorative Justice.
Many of us at RJIM are survivors of harm and injustice too, and it’s important to us to center your voices and wishes in every process we design to address harm. Our team of facilitators includes people from many backgrounds and identities, including people with lived experience navigating racialized harm and gender-based violence, and special training and skills in these areas.
We have worked for several years with a team of survivors to design our process for addressing harm. One of our favorite resources for working with harm in a survivor-centered way is the Creative Interventions Toolkit as well as a book called Fumbling Toward Repair. Feel free to explore it for yourself!
It’s important to know that as you drive this process, you may decide that you never want to come face to face with the person that harmed you. Or maybe you do. It is up to you- we work with you to design a process that will work for your needs, in your time. The first step is a conversation with an RJIM facilitator to explore options and to help you access support you might need along the way. This process is voluntary and you don’t have to keep going if it gets too overwhelming.
We started doing this work because we want survivors to find power, voice, and healing, and we know that often the criminal legal system doesn’t provide this. We will support people who want to try to use the criminal legal system alongside Restorative Justice, though, because we believe in choice.
If you’d like to reach out, feel free to send an email to Facilitation@rjimaine.org and someone will be in touch within a week to discuss options and see if we are able support your process.
