Since 2015, Restorative Justice Initiative has been educating, advocating and connecting New Yorkers who dream of new models for achieving justice, healing and accountability for harm. RJI convenes diverse stakeholders in order to foster collaboration and collective action across sectors to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, end mass incarceration and create a more just and equitable city.

Restorative justice is a philosophy and practice—based on indigenous spirituality—that addresses harm and conflict by centering relationships. Restorative practices foster meaningful accountability through nuanced inquiry into the causes and conditions that engender harm, from the personal to the structural.

While there are a growing number of organizations in New York City that deliver services that utilize restorative practices, our team has a bird’s eye view of the sector, and as such, we are the only grassroots organization that bridges the gaps between multiple stakeholders and maintains the alliances that will propel the movement forward.