ALAMOSA – After losing her own son to a medical condition, Joan continued to open her home and heart to the young teens who had been his childhood friends. When his best friend Brad forged one of her checks and tried to pass it at a local grocery, she found herself dissatisfied with what the legal system had to offer. What she wanted for Brad was not punishment, but accountability. She missed seeing Brad and wanted a genuine opportunity to mend her broken trust and restore their relationship. Her search led her to a new program being offered in the San Luis Valley. She and Brad were among the early participants of what was then known as Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP).
“Mediation let us both put this incident in the past, so we would no longer have to dwell on it or let it damage our relationship. I really believe we might have lost our relationship completely without it,” Joan reported recently. “Instead, we were able to move on as before, with things restored between us.” Rather than being “soft” on Brad’s offense, Joan experienced this face-to-face process in her livingroom as not only meeting her needs for restored relationship, but also as a time for true accountability for Brad.
Years later, Joan still gets excited thinking about this process and the long-term impact it has had. And she gets obvious joy from sharing “the rest of the story.” Joan and Brad remained close, visiting regularly even after he left for college, until his death some ten years after their restorative encounter. Joan participated in an outdoor memorial service for Brad where she suddenly had a realization. She and her husband had never buried their son Ryan’s ashes, and now she knew where she wanted them to be laid to rest. Some time later, arrangements were made between the two families to place Ryan’s ashes next to his best friend Brad, in a beautiful wilderness area, bringing this story of restoration full circle.
Restorative Justice (RJ) is an approach to crime and wrongdoing that engages victims, offenders, and their affected communities. This process provides support and answers for victims, allows offenders to take responsibility for their actions, and restores a sense of community safety. RJ is cost effective, results in high rates of victim satisfaction, and has been shown to reduce typical recidivism rates among juvenile offenders by greater than 50% in national studies. RJ is an integral component of programming offered by Center for Restorative Programs (CRP).
CRP presents the SLV Restorative Justice Summit on November 7-9. In addition to a current video interview with “Joan,” this three day event invites institutional leaders, professionals, service providers, and community members to engage with national RJ experts, hear RJ success stories, and brainstorm action plans for integrating RJ into the San Luis Valley. All events are free. To learn more about the Summit, please call CRP at 719-589-5255 or visit restorativeprograms.org.
The names have been changed in this account, to protect the privacy of Brad’s family.
What’s Been Said…