Reducing Harm.
Supporting Victims.
Creating Safer Communities.

Our Three Branches

We believe the restoration of victims, offenders, and our communities is possible. Our organization wants every person affected by crime to have the resources they need to heal.

Victim Services

Restorative Justice prioritizes meeting the individual needs of crime victims. Rather than focusing primarily on offenders and punishment, restorative justice practitioners seek to change the perspective of our systems and look towards victims first.

By organizing a network of community-based advocacy orgs, RJWA provides an alternative model of support for crime victims which addresses their immediate needs by standing with them in solidarity instead of standing behind them and assuming their needs.

Prison Programs

Currently, time spent in custody acts as the only measure of accountability for offenders. This antiquated policy and practice of measuring accountability in months and days often overlooks the actual harms that crime victims have suffered.

RJWA aims to address this lack by bringing programs into DOC facilities and offering opportunities for offenders to learn about RJ, contemplate the harm they've caused, take ownership, and do something transformative with their time.

Community Education

Currently, time spent in custody acts as the only measure of accountability for offenders. This antiquated policy and practice of measuring accountability in months and days often overlooks the actual harms that crime victims have suffered.

RJWA aims to address this lack by bringing programs into DOC facilities and offering opportunities for offenders to learn about RJ, contemplate the harm they've caused, take ownership, and do something transformative with their time.

Frequent Questions

What is Restorative Justice?

Why Restorative Justice?

Current criminal justice practices focus almost exclusively on punishment and offenders. Too often victims are little more than an afterthought or a backseat witness to the proceedings. For restorative justice practitioners, this framework is no longer acceptable as it does further harm to those it was designed to protect and serve. By implementing restorative practices into our criminal justice process, we can transform our state's system into one that reduces harm and focuses on meeting the needs of victims from the outset.

Who is involved in RJWA?

RJWA is not just a single entity or set of practitioners, nor are our programs created inside of an echo chamber. Instead, in alignment with the RJ philosophy, we invite stakeholders from ALL areas and points of view to bring their voices to the table. By listening to and working with crime victims, victim advocates and orgs, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement agencies, lawmakers, and offenders, we offer a restorative and community-based approach to meeting the needs of those affected by the criminal justice process.

How does RJWA work?

Currently, RJWA has three branches: Victim Services, Prison Programs, and Community Education. All three are separate in their work but united in their mission. We are teaching and practicing the RJ philosophy with the hope of supporting victims, increasing offender accountability, and reducing the effects of the harm that communities experience as a result of crime.