A restorative justice program at Women’s Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton has had a major impact since it began about a year ago, the home’s executive director says.
A restorative justice program at Women’s Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton has had a major impact since it began about a year ago, the home’s executive director says.
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“People tell us it’s life changing” Jennifer Vansteenkiste said about the Restore You program, launched in June 2023 with help from a $162,000 Ontario Trillium Foundation grant.
“The real purpose and goal for us is to reduce abuse, the cycle of violence and abuse in the community,” she said of the free, 12-week program that runs at least twice a year.
It focuses on helping people understand how trauma they’ve experienced affects their behavior and decisions, she said.
“It’s our perspective that every person has some sort of trauma in their life,” she said, noting the program was initially designed to help people ready to make a change in their life recognize and rectify problematic behavior.
It’s open to anyone and designed to help people through their trauma, she said.
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Typically, a dozen people take part, she said, noting there have been five closed groups so far.
“They tell us every person should take this program,” she said.
The funding continues until December, and the home that also helps shelter women and their children escaping abuse is applying for more grant money to keep it going, given consultants help run the program, Vansteenkiste said.
It’ll continue regardless, she said.
“We will use our donations to keep it running if we don’t get funding,” she said. “We feel that it’s that important.”
Interval home staff also got training to deliver three other restorative justice programs — victim-offender dialogue, healing circles, and community conferencing — designed to help survivors and offenders close the circle on whatever harm has been done, she said.
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“Giving the victims voice, and giving the perpetrator of the harm a way to be accountable and to heal from his or her behavior as well,” she said.
There’s a cost, operating on a sliding scale, to join any of those three programs, she said, noting restorative justice is not about penalties, but repairing relationships.
“The restorative justice piece is actually transformative,” she said. “It actually takes a person through a process of change.”
The significance of the programs was highlighted at the agency’s annual general meeting this month, Vansteenkiste said.
For details, see womensintervalhome.com.
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