Nov. 18 to 25 marks Restorative Justice Week in Canada. To celebrate and recognize the work of restorative practices in the region, municipalities proclaim Restorative Justice Week and the Restorative Justice Program of the Sunshine Coast will hold a series of events to promote this essential service in the community.
Join program members at the Trail Bay Centre in Sechelt on Tuesday, Nov. 20 or the Sunnycrest Mall in Gibsons on Thursday, Nov. 22 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to learn more about restorative justice programming and how you can get involved.
The program is also partnering with the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts to present Carys Cragg on Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre.
Cragg’s participation at the 2018 Festival of the Written Arts was moving and memorable. As an adult, she began a correspondence with the man who murdered her father when she was a young child. Her book, Dead Reckoning: How I Came to Meet the Man Who Murdered My Father, was recently short-listed for the Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction and explores her own personal and extraordinary journey in restorative justice. There will be an opportunity for discussion and questions. Admission to this event is by donation and copies of Dead Reckoning will be available for sale.
Cragg will also be visiting students at Chatelech and Elphinstone secondary schools through Celebration of Authors, Books and Community (CABC), a joint initiative of the SCFWA and School District No. 46 that brings writers and storytellers into Sunshine Coast classrooms.
The Restorative Justice Program of the Sunshine Coast is dedicated to offering alternative methods of justice to the traditional court system by promoting the use of restorative practices to address a variety of criminal and non-criminal offences, often involving youth and seniors. Restorative practices maximize social justice for victims, offenders and the community, and minimize further harm caused by the offending behaviour, moving participants towards healing and building stronger, safer communities.
Results show that victims participating in restorative practices are more likely to experience a greater level of control and satisfaction with outcomes of the process, and offenders are less likely to re-offend. The program serves the entire Sunshine Coast from Port Mellon to Egmont. For more information, phone 778-458-3111, email [email protected], or go to www.rjpsc.ca.
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