• Home
    • What are restorative practices? What is restorative justice?
    • About RJP Maine
  • Community Justice Hubs
    • Community Building Circles
    • Harm Repair Program >
      • Approaches to Harm Repair
    • Community Reentry: The Open Table >
      • Maine Coastal Regional Reentry Center Program
    • Policy & Advocacy
  • Learn With Us
    • Info sessions
    • Individual Training & Volunteering
    • Group Training & Support
    • Experience/Practice
    • Implementation Resources
  • Our People
    • Volunteers >
      • Interested in volunteering?
      • Volunteer Voices
    • Partner Organizations & Sponsors
    • Job Openings
    • COVID-19 Safety Protocol
  • Media
    • Circle Up Newsletters >
      • Circle Up Dec/Jan 2023
      • Circle Up Oct/Nov 2022
      • Circle Up Aug/Sept 2022
      • Circle Up June/July 2022
      • Circle Up April/May 2022
      • Circle Up Feb/March 2022
      • Circle Up Dec/Jan 2022
      • Circle Up Oct/November
      • Circle Up June/July 2021
      • Circle Up April/May 2021
      • January 2021 Newsletter
    • Annual Reports
    • Media Archive >
      • Efficacy Study
      • Call To Artists
      • RJP Maine BLOG
      • Past Community Events
      • Stories from the Community
      • Photo Gallery >
        • 10th Anniversary Photo Gallery
      • Black Lives Matter
      • More archives
  • Connect and Donate
    • Connect And Subscribe
    • Donate
  • Resources
  • Advocacy/Legislative Committee
  RJPMidcoast
  • Home
    • What are restorative practices? What is restorative justice?
    • About RJP Maine
  • Community Justice Hubs
    • Community Building Circles
    • Harm Repair Program >
      • Approaches to Harm Repair
    • Community Reentry: The Open Table >
      • Maine Coastal Regional Reentry Center Program
    • Policy & Advocacy
  • Learn With Us
    • Info sessions
    • Individual Training & Volunteering
    • Group Training & Support
    • Experience/Practice
    • Implementation Resources
  • Our People
    • Volunteers >
      • Interested in volunteering?
      • Volunteer Voices
    • Partner Organizations & Sponsors
    • Job Openings
    • COVID-19 Safety Protocol
  • Media
    • Circle Up Newsletters >
      • Circle Up Dec/Jan 2023
      • Circle Up Oct/Nov 2022
      • Circle Up Aug/Sept 2022
      • Circle Up June/July 2022
      • Circle Up April/May 2022
      • Circle Up Feb/March 2022
      • Circle Up Dec/Jan 2022
      • Circle Up Oct/November
      • Circle Up June/July 2021
      • Circle Up April/May 2021
      • January 2021 Newsletter
    • Annual Reports
    • Media Archive >
      • Efficacy Study
      • Call To Artists
      • RJP Maine BLOG
      • Past Community Events
      • Stories from the Community
      • Photo Gallery >
        • 10th Anniversary Photo Gallery
      • Black Lives Matter
      • More archives
  • Connect and Donate
    • Connect And Subscribe
    • Donate
  • Resources
  • Advocacy/Legislative Committee
RJP Maine volunteers usually give their time in their local county or neighboring ones, both in person and over Zoom.

Our volunteers have options.

​Some choose to volunteer in our more long-standing roles such as mentoring juvenile participants in our harm repair program or co-facilitating circles.  

Others participate in new pilot programs such as The Open Table.  


 

       Considering volunteering with RJP Maine?
       Here are some voices of our volunteers, new and old.



Q and A with a veteran volunteer:

What drew you to restorative justice volunteering?

     A combination of a genuine interest in advocacy and a personal experience with a child struggling with SUD while attending a well regarded public high school in Connecticut. I was appalled at the school's response to the crisis unfolding which was entirely punitive and without any effort to connect with our family in a way that focused on rehabilitation instead of punishment. It was that lack of connection that hit me the hardest. Each challenge we faced with our son was met with distance and what felt like disregard for his well being. I'd have to say the response was about as damaging as it could have been for someone in the throws of addiction. Suspension, expulsion, and removing an individual from the community they were once an active part of only increased the trauma for all of us. We eventually moved away from that community to mid coast Maine and I immediately threw myself into the only thing that made sense to me at the time and that was Restorative Justice.

How has working with RJ evolved your thinking? 

It validated every thought I had as an engaged parent who was advocating for recovery and re-entry into community for my son. The shame that accompanies the behaviors is something many people do not understand. Normalizing the conversation around restoring justice and using words like "repair agreement" and "re-entry" made it possible to articulate the valid research and statistics that support the thinking behind restorative justice. 

Is there a particular case or particular youth that impacted you or sticks with you?

Every single one. 


A recent Foundations trainee and retired educator, ready to volunteer:

I was reminded of how “circle keeping” has been at the heart of so many cultures forever. This is deep wisdom.  I found it very unexpected that sitting with a group of strangers, on Zoom, we were able to work toward pulling that soul wisdom forward. We were vulnerable and present for one another. We were both storytellers and listeners. 

While I have used circles with children in schools for problem solving, celebration, and even enhancing connection to curriculum, this process, with RJP Maine, was shared through intentional structures that were so effective.   

I am planning to use some of the structure in groups I facilitate with my faith group.

While RJ can be so healing in schools, prisons and government- this is very personal work. The applications are limitless. Family circles, friend circles, team circles, any tribe of people really. We are ordinary, flawed, and make mistakes. How beautiful to imagine small communities within larger communities, within societal structures, embracing these ideals and working toward restoring and rebuilding. 


The voices and perspectives of RJP Maine volunteers, staff, and participants are featured in our bi-monthly newsletters.  Please visit our "Media" section of this website to read more. 


​Restorative Justice Project Maine | Facebook
​Restorative Justice Project Maine
P.O. Box 141 / 132 High Street
​Belfast, ME 04915
207.338.2742
© 2023 by the 
Restorative Justice Project Maine 
All rights reserved.
  

The Restorative Justice Project Maine is a US 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
  • Home
    • What are restorative practices? What is restorative justice?
    • About RJP Maine
  • Community Justice Hubs
    • Community Building Circles
    • Harm Repair Program >
      • Approaches to Harm Repair
    • Community Reentry: The Open Table >
      • Maine Coastal Regional Reentry Center Program
    • Policy & Advocacy
  • Learn With Us
    • Info sessions
    • Individual Training & Volunteering
    • Group Training & Support
    • Experience/Practice
    • Implementation Resources
  • Our People
    • Volunteers >
      • Interested in volunteering?
      • Volunteer Voices
    • Partner Organizations & Sponsors
    • Job Openings
    • COVID-19 Safety Protocol
  • Media
    • Circle Up Newsletters >
      • Circle Up Dec/Jan 2023
      • Circle Up Oct/Nov 2022
      • Circle Up Aug/Sept 2022
      • Circle Up June/July 2022
      • Circle Up April/May 2022
      • Circle Up Feb/March 2022
      • Circle Up Dec/Jan 2022
      • Circle Up Oct/November
      • Circle Up June/July 2021
      • Circle Up April/May 2021
      • January 2021 Newsletter
    • Annual Reports
    • Media Archive >
      • Efficacy Study
      • Call To Artists
      • RJP Maine BLOG
      • Past Community Events
      • Stories from the Community
      • Photo Gallery >
        • 10th Anniversary Photo Gallery
      • Black Lives Matter
      • More archives
  • Connect and Donate
    • Connect And Subscribe
    • Donate
  • Resources
  • Advocacy/Legislative Committee