Salina Initiative for Restorative Justice (SIRJ)

Goal: $1,500.00

Specific Need

Restorative Justice views crime as a violation of the victim and of the community as a whole. 

SIRJ conducts victim-offender dialogues to make things as right as possible after a criminal act. Agreements reached during these interventions often include community service, apologies, restitution and more.  In victim-offender dialogues, the mediator meets with the offender and a parent/guardian (for youth) or support person (for adults, if desired).  Next, we contact the victim, ask them to meet with the mediator and invite them to participate in the dialogue. Finally, with the assistance of the mediator, offender meets victim.  All sides discuss the circumstances of the crime and harm done to the victim and community and work out a mutually agreeable plan to repair the harm - to make things as right as possible.  When a victim is not willing or able to participate, we call on our trained Neighborhood Accountability Board volunteers.  Offenders are held accountable. Victims can get their questions answered and often receive restitution and apologies.

SIRJ also mediates between parents and their adolescents to keep families whole and manage conflicts.

Your donation to SIRJ will be used to pay mediator stipends to provide victim-offender mediation services, assist with administrative support and provide annual mediator training. 

Mission

SALINA INITIATIVE FOR RESTORATIVE JUSTICE:

• Allows victims to confront their offenders and participate in the resolution of their cases.
• Improves outcomes for offenders, holding them accountable while reintegrating them into the community and minimizing contact with the court system.
• Lightens the load of the justice system.
• Strengthens community resilience through collaboration among law enforcement, the court system and the community at large.

Profile

    The Salina Initiative for Restorative Justice is a better alternative to court for the growing legion of low-risk juvenile and adult offenders.  In the traditional court system, prosecution and incarceration can lead offenders on a pathway to failure, and crime victims are typically no better off.  The escalating cost of incarceration is strangling state and local budgets without increasing the safety of our communities.  These communities do not need more people in jail. They need to be strengthened with people who can recognize the pain and damage that criminal acts cause.  SIRJ can better meet the needs of these offenders and our community by making their harmful actions personal, solving problems directly, and supporting efforts to change their behavior in the future. This saves tax payer money by providing an alternative to incarceration, and reducing the rate of recidivism.  
     Victim-Offender Mediation (VOM), also known as victim-offender dialogue, is a truly transformative program with tangible benefits to participants, their families, SIRJ volunteers, and the community as a whole.  With face-to-face meetings between victims, offenders, and their families or support persons, SIRJ mediators create a place of engagement that is not available through the traditional court system.  Since the parties are not disputants, the emphasis is on healing, accountability, trust building, and where needed, restoration of losses.  SIRJ utilizes proven models for resolving conflict and genuine relationship building.  The process focuses on harms done, rather than punishment and debt collection.  This benefits our community by providing an example for offenders of how to manage poor choices and help them become productive members of society.