18th century writer and philosopher, Friedrich Schiller, said “keep true to the dreams of your youth.” Sadly, for many of our young people, especially in urban areas, youthful dreams have faded, disappeared, or worst, never formed. Young people today are overwhelmed by fear, despair, and anger; Fear from violence and trauma, despair from neglect and stress, and anger at anyone who can be blamed for their situation.
As a father of two teenagers, I want my son and daughter to realize their dreams. But what about the dreams of other young people? What do we do as a community to allow our young people to dream, heal, and thrive, to give them a sense of hope? Unfortunately, our systems have failed them. Police have failed; courts have failed; schools have failed; we have failed.
We must employ new ways and methods of engaging youth, to help them live more purposeful, driven, self-reliant, resilient, and restorative lives. A bold and different answer is the Restorative Center, a new way to reclaim and change the idea of justice.
The Restorative Center’s (TRC) mission is to develop a community-centered model of restorative justice that creates the structure and space for communities to discover and activate their abilities to work together toward their own well-being.
TRC seeks a viable alternative to the adversarial system, a better way to resolve and deter conflict, to promote individual and community healing, and to reclaim and change the idea of justice.
We train teens to affect real change and promote engagement. We recognize the progressive possibilities in working with young adults. To expand the availability of community circles and the reach of restorative justice, TRC facilitates three-day foundational training workshops for teen volunteers. Circles are forming in each of the communites hosting TRC trainings. We offer these trainings without cost to our Teens and Volunteers. We ask for your continued support.
Join us in reclaiming and changing the idea of justice.
