Category Archives: personal growth

Effective, even alone, co-keep a Restorative Justice Circle.

An element of an effective Restorative Justice Circle is engaging each and every person in the power of the Circle.  This can be a difficult group process management skill.  Lucky for Circlekeepers, the Circle itself brings that.  In essence you

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Filed under Belonging, Circle Keeping, Circle Stages, Kris Miner, personal growth, Practitioner Skills, Relationships, Restorative Justice, Teaching RJ, Tip of the Week

Facilitating Restorative Justice loss of life, embraces the essence of the loved one.

Please note, this blog topic, facilitating Restorative Justice in a situation of a fatality, is not intended to promote practitioners stepping beyond their own skill set and training.  Mark Umbriet’s week-long course, a masters in counseling and additional trainings in grief, trauma and

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Filed under Community, Conferencing, Full Circle Experiences, Kris Miner, offenders, personal growth, Practitioner Skills, Restorative Justice, Tip of the Week, Victims

Circle keeping from the depths of your humanity.

Thank you Webster dictionary on-line.  Humanity:  The totality of human beings.  Human Beings are mental, physical, emotional and spiritual.  I believe that Circle keeping is most effective when the keeper is working towards a balance and wellness.  I say working

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Filed under Belonging, Circle Keeping, Circle Process, Circle Stages, personal growth, Practitioner Skills, Responses from participants, Restorative Justice, Teaching RJ

Restorative Justice, beyond the victim-offender conference.

From an article in the Eau Claire Leader. HUDSON – Randy Spence admits it would take a miracle for him to ever forgive the drunken driver who killed his daughter. But Spence also realizes how close he came to possibly

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Filed under Formal Justice, Full Circle Experiences, offenders, personal growth, Practitioner Interviews, Relationships, Restorative Justice, SCVRJP, storytelling, Talking Piece, Victims

Restorative Justice accountibility means understanding the context.

Context, it is understanding things in perspective to other things.  I think we underestimate the importance of context.  For example, it is 2:20am and I have to be leading a Circle in 7 hours.  I should be sleeping.  This blog is

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Filed under Belonging, offenders, Peace, personal growth, Responses from participants, Restorative Justice, storytelling

“Justice, as many definitions as victims”. – PBS Elusive Justice

Ran across this photo on Facebook, and the story below.  Before posting in my blog, a quick google search and I discovered Ms. Cathey, the widow pictured, was also pregnant.  I’m sharing the story, will explain below. The night before

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Filed under Belonging, Peace, personal growth, Practitioner Skills, Relationships, storytelling, Tip of the Week

Restorative Justice, criminology of self or other, a lesson from the process.

To encourage understanding of our work, and to do what I teach, SCVRJP staff meetings include a reading, a reflection and a check-in. I teach, that agencies or schools that use Circles or Restorative Justice, should parellel the process within the

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Filed under Circle Process, Community, Full Circle Experiences, Meeting Goals, non-profit management, personal growth, Research, Restorative Justice, RJ Resources, SCVRJP, Tip of the Week

In Life and in Restorative Justice, shame is a gift; feeling and friendship lead to healing.

A good night’s rest really helps me out.  I’ve got one of those monkey minds.  A “monkey mind” is a Buddist term, rather than staying in the present moment, my thoughts leap from one to another as a monkey leaps from tree

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Filed under Belonging, Full Circle Experiences, Kris Miner, personal growth, Practitioner Skills, Relationships, Restorative Justice, storytelling, Teaching RJ, Tip of the Week

Women, love, storytelling and healing.

Four generations of women in one small hospital room.  I took a mental picture, and appreciated the beauty and gift; the four of us in this moment.  We had even mentioned it to the nurse.   As soon as the nurse left, the humor, so

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Filed under Kris Miner, Peace, personal growth

Restorative Justice non-profit, agency asset #1, the power of the human spirit.

This blog has several posts about the view of people as mental, physical, emotional and spiritual.  Or/also known as – mind, body, heart and soul.  As a Restorative Justice teacher, advocate, practitioner and student, I think it is crucial to

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Filed under non-profit management, personal growth, Practitioner Skills, Relationships, RJ Resources, SCVRJP, Teaching RJ, Victims, Volunteers