NYC expands restorative justice programs: 'This is for them to come feel safe'

On the second floor of the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center in the Bronx, a group of recent high school graduates sat in a circle and shared how they act when they feel comfortable.

One said when she feels safe, she can let go. Another told the group she can say whatever she wants and it won’t be awkward. A third said she could be “more myself.”

The group was learning to lead “restorative justice circles” — conversations in which participants sit side by side in a circle to talk through something difficult. While restorative justice is a broad term that can mean many things, in this case the circles are meant to help younger teens in the neighborhood become more comfortable expressing their feelings and resolving conflicts.

“They just need someone who really listens to them without judgment,” said Greyxmarlyn Rosario, 18.

The Bronx community center is one of 16 organizations in New York City receiving a combined $6.5 million over the next year for programs to bolster public safety using restorative justice — a philosophy that aims to build community and mediate arguments through conversation, rather than through discipline or criminal charges.

It’s sometimes used as a way for crime victims and perpetrators to make peace. But it can also be used as a tool to help people feel comfortable having difficult discussions. Some New York City school administrators, court officials and nonprofits are already using restorative justice to mediate disputes.

The new funding will support a wide range of programs that aim to build on the already growing use of restorative justice across the city. Some will train people to lead conversations like the one in Kingsbridge Heights. Others will host circles for school students, people with addiction, domestic violence survivors and teens arrested on gun charges. The city is also funding groups that can help schools, violence interrupters and other community groups to implement restorative practices.

The money stems from an agreement five years ago to spend more money on community-based organizations that work to make neighborhoods safer, as part of the city’s plan to close Rikers Island and invest more in non-carceral approaches to public safety and justice.

In Kingsbridge Heights, Ramses Portorreal, 19, said he's learning how to lead circles for younger teens in his community because he wants them to have a space where they're comfortable sharing what they're feeling, no matter what's going on in their neighborhood. He said the kids in the circles he’s led so far have already started to trust one another and get things off their chest. And he’s getting more comfortable opening up, too.

“I feel like this is really to help the youth, because they probably don't feel safe outside or at their home,” Portorreal said. “So then this is for them to come feel safe.”

A total of $16.5 million has been earmarked for the restorative justice initiative over the next few years, according to the Mayor’s Office for Criminal Justice. The investment comes amid uncertainty over the future of the city’s jail complex, which is still housing too many detainees to shut down and faces scrutiny over its ability to keep both incarcerated people and staff safe from violence and sexual assault . A federal judge is also considering taking control of Rikers away from the city.

‘We become human again’

Restorative justice isn’t a cure-all for conflict and crime. But several studies have identified possible benefits. The University of Chicago Education Lab found using restorative programs to address student behavior can reduce arrests and suspensions . A recent analysis of more than 30 studies found restorative justice practices can also have a positive psychological effect on victims of crime .

“Restorative justice work allows you to slow down for a minute and really think and reflect,” said Rhokeisha Ford, program director at the CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance, which helped the mayor’s office pick the grant recipients.

Ford said she has sat in many restorative justice circles, including during her years as a school principal, when she used the approach with students who had violated the disciplinary code. She said the practice allows participants to see one another as fellow people instead of perpetrators and victims.

“We become human again,” she said. “It's not just the crime or the victim.”

Ford said each of the city programs will have its own unique performance measurements, since the groups have varying resources and different levels of experience with restorative justice. The organizations will also receive training and technical assistance throughout the year.

Several programs, including the one in Kingsbridge Heights, are training a new generation of restorative justice practitioners. Elizabeth Clemants, a social worker who founded a restorative justice organization for childhood sexual abuse, is teaching the new circle facilitators at the local community center. She said equipping young people to lead circles will allow them to reach their peers in a way she never could.

Clemants said these circles are about more than just conflict resolution. They can also help to strengthen relationships, so that when issues do flare up, the young people will have the tools they need to work through them.

“It's really a community building effort to create accountability to each other,” she said.