About Us
Mission
The Montpelier Community Justice Center (MCJC) was established in 2003 with the mission to ensure that the people it serves have the resources they need to resolve conflicts and promote problem solving in creative ways that encourage feelings of fairness, safety, and inclusion.
The MCJC is part of the growing restorative justice movement that institutionalizes peaceful approaches to harm, problem-solving, and violations of legal and human rights. Restorative justice is a collaborative, inclusive process that aims to build understanding, encourage accountability, and provide an opportunity for healing. We believe this approach can improve the well-being of communities by restoring peace and reducing the likelihood of repeated conflict and crime.
Goals
The goal of the Community Justice Center is to restore relations that have been damaged by conflict or crime.
"The Montpelier Community Justice Center truly embodies the restorative spirit and serves as an admirable example for others of how a community can form collaborative partnerships to successfully address crime and conflict." -- Hans Johnson, Vermont Department of Corrections
The goal of the Community Justice Center is to restore relations that have been damaged by conflict or crime.
"The Montpelier Community Justice Center truly embodies the restorative spirit and serves as an admirable example for others of how a community can form collaborative partnerships to successfully address crime and conflict." -- Hans Johnson, Vermont Department of Corrections
Services
The Montpelier Community Justice Center improves community health and safety by helping people whose lives are disrupted by conflict or crime. We recognize the potential for citizens to live in harmony with their neighbors and contribute to the civility and well-being of the community.
To help people respond to destructive behavior in constructive ways, we provide programs and services that:
The Montpelier Community Justice Center improves community health and safety by helping people whose lives are disrupted by conflict or crime. We recognize the potential for citizens to live in harmony with their neighbors and contribute to the civility and well-being of the community.
To help people respond to destructive behavior in constructive ways, we provide programs and services that:
- Act as a go-between for people in conflict and provide support to help them work through their disputes
-- "(The meetings) provided a professional third party who was objective and not motivated by personal interests. The Community Justice Center...balances the problems that can result from the domination of issues by 'the strong versus the weak'." - Facilitate problem-solving conversations
-- "I rolled with the punches and hung in there...and various solutions were explored, discarded, or refined...It did not cost me anything except time and I believe it was time well spent." - Give people directly affected by a crime a forum to talk about their experience, articulate their needs, and receive support from their community
--"I found peace with the incident and all involved." - Provide a way for people responsible for a crime to make amends and build a positive connection with their community
--"The Rep Board taught me how to be accountable for my actions and to not just consider those that I immediately affected. This was a great chance for me to make amends." - Teach people skills to resolve conflict peacefully
--"I liked this training because it gave me some tools [to deal with conflict] and a better understanding of things that escalate conflict."