Restorative Justice Community Action

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About Us

Restorative Justice Community Action (RJCA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. RJCA brings residents of Minneapolis neighborhoods together with people who have committed livability crimes in their neighborhoods to participate in a restorative justice process that strengthens offender accountability. Livability crimes include solicitation for prostitution or sale of drugs, public urination and drunkenness, litter and noise pollution, tagging and vandalism, etc.—crimes some may refer to as “victimless” crimes but affect people who live in the neighborhoods. The core process of RJCA is “community conferencing,” where offenders, community members, observers, and trained volunteer facilitators come together and sit in a circle so that everyone can see each other and discuss the details of the crime. Everyone has a voice in this process, and a meaningful resolution to the crime is agreed upon by everyone involved through consensus. Restorative justice is a holistic, gentle, respectful, and powerful process that complements our current justice system, which is often overburdened with low-level, non-violent criminal cases. Restorative justice diverts a significant number of these cases from the criminal justice system each year, and brings real accountability for the actions that impact the quality of life in Minneapolis.

Our Mission

The mission of the Restorative Justice Community Action is to improve community livability through restorative justice practices. We bring people together to make things right. Our immediate goal and mission is to conduct community conferences to resolve criminal cases, and our long-term goal is to help people both understand and accept that restorative justice is a relevant and viable way of bringing justice to everyone on a micro (immediate neighborhood) to macro (whole world) level. Restorative Justice believes that everyone (especially victims) should have a voice in the process; offenders should have a clear understanding of the impact of their behavior on the community where it occurred; offenders should have an opportunity to repair the harm in a meaningful and relevant way; and there should be a way for the community to come together to get involved in the process that effects them on a daily basis.

Why We Need a New Website

A new website will help Restorative Justice Community Action (RJCA) in many ways:
• RJCA staff, volunteers, and board members now spend an inordinate amount of time filling out and sending forms related to the community conferencing and requests for donations from businesses and individuals. A website will give everyone affiliated with RJCA (offenders, community members, facilitators, RJCA staff, board members, and volunteers) an efficient way to conduct its repetitious and vital administrative functions. This will give RJCA staff, board members, and volunteers much-needed time to do other important tasks.
• RJCA is an organization that focuses on building relationships among people. One of the best ways to bring together people who are interested in or curious about RJCA, restorative justice, or improving the quality of life is to offer a platform for them to find each other and to provide links to other agencies and organizations related to either restorative justice or the current criminal justice system.
• One of RJCA’s challenges is to help people understand just exactly what restorative justice is, as well as explaining why it is a valid and relevant alternative and complement to our current justice system. This explanation can accomplished more effectively and in a more impactful/meaningful manner through other forms of media besides the written word— streaming video, for instance. A website can help clarify an organization’s mission and work by providing various forms of communication - i.e., written, video, audio, graphic photo, etc. - as well as offering links to more information to meet the various needs and interests of the particular inquirer. Also websites provide information to interested parties 24/7.
• Since many more people are comfortable conducting money transactions via the computer, the ability to accept and handle donations will help RJCA in its efforts to conduct its core processes, as well as help promote its mission.

How Our New Site Will Help Make the World Greener

An interactive website will eliminate much of the written correspondence between the agency and its board members, its facilitators, its community members, referral partners, volunteers, donors, and the public at large. This reduction in written correspondence will reduce the amount of consumables generated by RJCA including, but not limited to, paper, CD/DVD's, printer cartridges/toner, ink, etc. It will also reduce the staff time needed to communicate with the organization's constituents.

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Messages From Supporters

When the judges choose which non-profits will be selected to participate in this year's Challenge they will take into account testimonials from beneficiaries, donors, volunteers, board members and other

Hello, I am a Graphic Design student currently attending Minneapolis Community and Technical College. I will graduate this May…yes!!!

I became involved with Restorative Justice Community Action last summer when my mother asked me to design invites for a RJCA fund-raising and promotion event. As with anything I do when it comes to designing, I first do a lot of research on the subject for which I am designing for—in this case, Restorative Justice Community Action. What I learned about restorative justice would make a true believer out of me for this alternative system of justice. I enjoyed (and continue to enjoy!) designing invites and posters for events for RJCA, but what this organization has given me far outweighs anything I’ve done for them. I learned that not only does restorative justice practices address both victims and offenders, but also anyone and everyone involved or connected to it are “repaired” in some measure. It is truly “social justice” in that regard.

I actually sat in on a “community conference” as an “observer” (anyone can be an observer) and witnessed the process at work. Without breaking confidentiality, I observed how people, who sit around in a circle, facing each other, show and feel more respect for each other as a whole. It’s hard to avoid and escape the connection (relationship) between a fellow human being in this setting. It is subtle, but very powerful. There were four offenders, one community member (the victim, as she lived in the community where the crimes occurred), two facilitators, and two observers (I was one). The offenders were there because they had been caught committing a “livability” crime and had received a ticket. They could have just paid a fine and be done with it, but chose to come to a “community conference” to resolve their cases. I believe, after witnessing the event, that all four came out of that meeting understanding more clearly their actions and behavior that brought them there than if they had just placed some money in an envelope and dropped it in the mailbox.

I continue to be involved with RJCA doing what I can to help them promote their message. I actually find that some of RJCA’s philosophy of justice has infiltrated into my relationships with other people, as well. The mission of Restorative Justice Community Action is straightforward and immediate, but its overall application to help all people live peacefully together in a home, community, city, state, country, and world is vast.

Respectfully,

Sara Shulstad
Graphic Designer

1769 Dupont Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55403
612.242.2646
sshulstad@gmail.com

Sara Chae Shulstad and I am a volunteer for Restorative Justice Community Action

This is a program that makes a difference - to residents of neighborhoods where crimes occur, to students of the University who have been caught drinking underage, to businesses downtown, to churchgoers in the inner city, to the budgets of the county and city attorneys' offices. Offenders charged with livability crimes have the opportunity to learn how they affect their neighbors - and they give back to the community and don't reoffend. Residents have the opportunity to express their frustration and anger - and are healed in the process. This program, that offers diverson to many offenders each year, saving the City Attorney's office a substantial part of it's budge, not to mention substantial savings to the court system. And it works! Offenders going through this program seldom if ever reoffend, as opposed to those going through the court system and paying fines.

And it makes a difference to those of us volunteering in the program. We know we are giving our time to a program that makes a difference, but we are also learning in the process - learning to be more patient, more tolerant, more accepting - learning to be less judgmental, less hasty, less critical. My involvement in the program has prompted my daughter Sara to become involved, and she, too, has become an outspoken supporter of the program.

In times of tight budgets, programs such as Restorative Justice need help from many directions. Help in designing an effective website is critical to the continuation of the program. Thank you for your consideration of RJCA's participation in this event.

Mariana R. Shulstad
1769 Dupont Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55403
612-377-1288
mrshulstad@msn.com

Mariana R. Shulstad. I am a conference facilitator, a member of the Board of Directors and past Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer, and a donor.

RJCA is a fabulous organization and essential to the healing of our communities. I have participated in several conferences in my neighborhood and have seen first hand the impact it has in building our community up.
They have a website that does not convey the true value of what they do and they could use an update.

Thank you for your consideration of RJCA

Ariah Fine
(612) 568-0867
http://ariahfine.com

Ariah Fine, Volunteer
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