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A true story of finding common ground

Jamila* had an injured foot and a distressed son; Rob had been charged with a crime. Rob was Jamila’s son’s coach, and they had had conflict around her son losing his captain’s role on the team. In the parking lot one day after practice, Jamila walked up to Coach Rob, in his car, to talk. When Rob quickly drove off to avoid Jamila, he ran over her foot unintentionally. Jamila was injured and upset; Rob was charged with a hit and run and let go from his coaching position. This story could have ended there with a typical prosecution: no interaction, no understanding, and a criminal conviction permanently on Rob’s record. Instead, Jamila & Rob decided to give restorative justice a try. 

Right now, there are thousands of people in this region who don’t know that they can access restorative justice for situations of harm. Because CVCJ services are voluntary, community awareness is crucial. This giving season, every dollar raised means we can take on more cases and do more outreach and community building to bring RJ to the Charlottesville/Albemarle community. Please join our team and donate TODAY to keep this movement growing!

*Names and details changed for confidentiality.

A restorative justice process at CVCJ is about more than just talking about the incident that occurred. Facilitators work with participants to dig into the root causes behind the incident to understand why the harm happened, and what can be done to keep it from happening again. 

In Jamila and Rob’s case, facilitators patiently explored the contributing factors of the incident with each participant, and learned:

• Rob avoids conflict and did not want to hear what Jamila was saying, leading him to drive away quickly without realizing her proximity to his car. 
• Both participants felt that their differing genders, races, and roles increased each person’s worries about communicating with the other, making communication more strained.
• Both Jamila and Rob felt that the sports league was unresponsive to their requests for support in the weeks before the incident, leading Jamila to attempt to resolve the issue on her own by addressing Rob directly. 

Engaging in groundwork to help participants fully process their behaviors and emotions is essential in order to prepare for a successful dialogue. By considering the reasons behind their actions, each participant gained self-awareness & resilience; this makes space for true change to emerge.

CVCJ staff spent 180 hours working on this case from intake through closure. This dedication to getting to know our participants and fully preparing them for a safe and productive dialogue is part of the game plan that makes our restorative justice work a winning formula. Donations from the community are what allows us to provide these high quality services to meet the needs of our participants. Every $35 you give provides an hour of RJ services.

After their groundwork meetings, Jamila, her son, and Rob were a little nervous but ready to meet. The facilitators led a dialogue in which the participants spoke from their hearts and found common ground. The circle process used by CVCJ ensured that each person had ample time to speak their mind. 

• Jamila’s son was empowered to share his thoughts and feelings with his former coach. 
• Jamila got to share her story, and said that the facilitators “always listened and took into account how my son and I felt.”
• Rob fully stepped into accountability for his actions, and said the facilitators “didn’t judge either party. [I learned I had] to be patient and things will fall into place. It's a process, [I had] to be willing to go through with it.” 

As part of the agreement, Rob committed to paying Jamila’s medical bills. Jamila also asked him to attend a several-week support group for processing emotions - it was important to her that he learn additional coping skills to prevent any similar incidents in the future - and Rob agreed. After this process, Jamila expressed full confidence that the agreement would be fulfilled and indicated that she felt greater well-being now than before RJ.

100% of the people who completed a participant survey about their restorative justice experience with CVCJ 'Agreed' or 'Strongly Agreed' that the agreement repaired the harm as much as possible. And participants averaged 9.2 on a scale of 1-10 when asked if they would recommend CVCJ to another person in their situation. To make this experience possible for even more people, please give today!

After the restorative conference, Rob got to work completing the actions he had committed to. With the criminal charges set to be dismissed after he fulfilled the agreement, Rob was free to focus on making positive changes, rather than on defending himself against the legal system. Although he initially did not think he would benefit from the emotional support group, Rob later asked CVCJ to thank Jamila for encouraging his participation, and even decided to continue attending beyond the required sessions. 

When all was said and done, Rob looked different - lighter and happier - at the court hearing to dismiss his case, compared to his demeanor at the initial court hearing. He thanked CVCJ staff and said this is a good program and he thinks it will help more people. As the case concluded, Jamila and her son finally had the answers, repair, and feelings of safety that allowed them to move forward from the incident. Without restorative justice, none of these wins would have occurred: Jamila and her son would have been left with unanswered questions and unaddressed trauma, and Rob would have received a criminal conviction with no avenue for increasing self-awareness and making amends. This is the power of restorative justice.

Rob reached the finish line, and now he hopes more people will be able to access restorative justice - but CVCJ can’t do this without donations from people like you. If we don’t reach our $100,000 goal, we will not have the funds we need to engage the community, promote RJ, and facilitate a full caseload this year.

The ball is in your court - please join us in making justice, healing, and safety possible for even more people in the coming year. Every dollar gets us closer to our $100,000 goal so that we can go the distance to serve every person referred to us this year, and do more outreach and education to ensure more of our community knows that CVCJ is here to help them after harm.

Central Virginia Community Justice is a Project of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE), a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Your donation is tax deductible.

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