Restorative Justice Circle Keeping Training for North Saint Louis

North Saint Louis was hit by a devastating tornado during May. We would like to work with neighbors, residents and leaders to bring healing to the next level and come together to learn and deepen our skills as a community. We are inviting Fanmsaj to Saint Louis to guide us through a restorative justice circle keeping training.

Please read more, from the organization:

Overview and Rationale 

Our Movement for Social Justice has a powerful vision for seeing the world a better place for future generations to live in a safer place to live. Under the current model, we know that we must learn methods where we can work with our mind, body and spirit to heal ourselves and our communities. To achieve that vision, communities must be whole – socially, emotionally and spiritually. 

Through Fanm Saj, Inc. a growing Healing/Restorative/Transformative Justice organization that understands the growing need to provide leadership development for youth and community members to empower them to be self-advocates, promote positive changes in the system of care, motivating wellness and success. Fanm Saj, Inc is working to nourish, build and commune communities for the transformation of self and humanity. 

There are many theories that share the importance of healing, story-telling and to get to the point of shifting the narrative in order to build power for ourselves and our communities. Many times, the truth is put in data or statistics, but it’s not until a story is shared that that truth resonates and comes to life. 

We must oer community care and wellness to communities of color who are oftentimes asked to share their stories. Many times, the trauma is relieved through our thoughts and in our bodies, it immobilizes us. While there are many approaches in storytelling and narrative shifting, we at Fanm Saj utilize Restorative Justice circle keeping as a tool to reach Healing Centered Engagement, which is a strength based collective view of healing. It re-centers culture as a central feature in wellbeing. 

Healing Centered Engagement begins with building empathy with people of color who experience trauma. This process takes time, and is an ongoing process which helps to build empathy. To create this empathy, circle keepers are encouraged to share their story first and take an emotional risk by being more vulnerable, honest and open. 

Healing and well-being are fundamentally political and through Restorative Justice Circle Keeping, the participants will develop an analysis of these practices and policies that facilitate the trauma in the first place. Thus moving the group towards critical reflection and taking action. 

Why Restorative Justice Circle Keeping? 

Restorative Justice represents a transformative paradigm shift in how we think about accountability and public safety. At the root of violence and other forms of interpersonal 

harm are the broader political and economic inequalities that act in concert to disrupt and destabilize the lives of working class communities. When harm occurs in our communities, we need resolutions that address the needs of those who are impacted, hold individuals accountable, and strengthen our communities without isolating, ostracizing, or stigmatizing. However, the criminal legal system as we know it fails to address harm in a manner that supports community cohesion. Rather, our current system of surveillance, police, and prisons serves to escalate conflict, inflict additional violence and insecurity, and further deteriorate community relationships. 

Restorative Justice also serves as a community building tool for the purposes of building relationships, trust building and having an authentic process of accountability. “Circle Keeping” can be used as a reference for advocacy, empowerment, building social and communicative skills, story sharing, and repairing of harm towards Transformative Justice; a series of practices and philosophies designed to create change in social systems.