Restorative Justice Project receives $7,500 grant
(Reprinted from VillageSoup.com, May 11, 2006)

The Restorative Justice Project (RJP) of the MidCoast recently received a $7,500 grant from the Waldo County Fund of the Maine Community Foundation.

RJP works with juvenile and school discipline cases to develop offender accountability and awareness of the impact of the crime or offense upon the victim. RJP also works with inmates prior to and following release from jail to foster accountability and rehabilitation.

“This grant is a wonderful affirmation of the importance of the work that began less than two years ago and will support our efforts to expand each of the program areas,” said Margaret Micolichek, executive director of RJP. The foundation is part of a widespread partnership of supporters of the RJP that includes law enforcement, probation, the YMCA, the district attorney’s office, local congregations, numerous social service agencies, the University of Maine and more than 50 volunteers.

Micolichek said 17 juvenile offenders have successfully been involved in “community resolution” circles during the past year and a half. Community Resolution Teams bring together victims, offenders and community participants. The circle process calls for accountability by the offender and offers the chance for victims to talk about the impact the offense has had on their lives. The process results in an agreement that usually involves a plan for restitution.

A mentor works with the offender for three to six months. In one case, a young boy who admitted to vandalism was taken under the wings of his victim, who provided an opportunity for the boy to work with him and learn the value of the work he had destroyed. In several cases, young people agreed to share their experiences with younger children in order that they might avoid making the same mistakes.

An important benefit of the Community Resolution Team approach is that youngsters do not face the future with a permanent criminal record. "We try to give them a fresh start with a clean slate to break the pattern before it becomes irrevocably fixed," said Micolichek.

The Waldo County Jail has been setting new records for the number of people incarcerated. Jail has become a revolving door for almost two-thirds of the inmates, many of whom are in jail for the third, fourth or fifth time. Due to overcrowding, almost $500,000 is being spent annually to house inmates in other jails around the state.

The RJP's Community Re-entry program has trained 14 volunteers who work in teams of two with inmates, meeting with them for at least four to six weeks prior to and then six months following release. Serving as mentors, volunteers assist participants with such issues as housing, employment, health care and family relationships.

A critical goal is to help inmates accept accountability for their actions. Since most inmates return to the same circumstances that contributed to their crimes, volunteers help to break old patterns by providing support during inevitable times of difficulty as offenders seek to turn their lives around.

"It's tough work, reweaving connections and building new ones," said Rev. T. Richard Snyder, chairman of the RJP steering committee. Snyder has worked in the past with long-term prisoners from Sing Sing. He serves as a volunteer with the re-entry program.

“The first thing you know about the person is that they have been put in jail for a criminal act. It would be very easy to define them only by the worst thing they have done,” said Snyder. “However, as you get to know them, it is incredible to discover their gifts, their capacities, their vulnerabilities and the obstacles they have faced — to discover their humanity. Incarceration accomplishes little more than punishing them for their crimes. A solid re-entry program can build on their capacities and hopefully reduce the chances that they will re-offend …”

Since so many of the patterns of criminal behavior develop early in a young person's life, the RJP has been working with local schools to develop approaches to discipline built on the model of the Community Resolution Teams.

Students learn the impact of their actions on the victim, learn to be accountable for their behavior, and participate in shaping an agreement that offers healing for the victim and the larger community. Members of the community serve as mentors. More than 96 teachers and school administrators have participated in an in-service training for this approach, and in August there will be a second, full-day training at their request.

RJP is working collaboratively with the Violence Prevention Project of the University of Maine in Orono. To date, the Troy Howard Middle School and Searsport District Middle School and High School have entered into an agreement to be trained and to use this model. Administrators and teachers from a number of other schools have indicated interest. Through this program, RJP helps students remain connected to the school community, rather than being alienated from support as a result of suspension or expulsion.

“We have a pressing need for more volunteers,” said Micolichek. “… Our more than 50 current volunteers cannot keep up with the tremendous need.”

Training opportunities for volunteers are being offered. Training for both the Community Resolution Team and school programs will be held 6–8 p.m. Wednesdays, May 17 and 24, at the Waldo County YMCA on Lincolnville Avenue.

Volunteer training for the Community Re-Entry Program will be held 5:30-8 p.m. Thursdays, June 8 and 25, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 37 Miller St., Belfast.

For more information, contact Micolichek at rjpmidcoast@yahoo.com or call 338-2742.

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