Restorative Circles Overview
Restorative Circles offer a means for individuals and communities to support connection, discover meaning and recover power when differences occur. They create a forum for reaching agreements that help sustain effective and nurturing relationships both personally, professionally and within society.
Created by CNVC certified trainer Dominic Barter of Brazil to assist young people in avoiding unnecessary entanglement in the justice system there, Restorative Circles (RC) offer a means for communities to share the responsibility for restoration of community well-being. A circle is requested when someone experiences what they call harm because of something said or done by another. Each person involved then invites the community members whom they believe need to be present. When all come together in the circle, the facilitator guides all present in the sharing of their own experience of the act and its consequences for them. The group then collaborates to create an agreed-to, time-sensitive action plan that will address the harm and restore relationships and well-being.
When structured into the everyday functioning of any group or organization, this powerful community-building experience can serve as a foundational tool for maintaining well-being. When a restorative program is in place, all community members grow confident that everyday tensions and conflicts can be easily and humanely addressed with community support. A Restorative Circle progam can preclude the escalation of conflict and the destructive result of long-held, unexpressed resentment. Restorative Circles promote collaboration, cooperation, co-responsibility and connection.
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