Northern Arizona Restorative Justice

Our mission is to provide supportive restorative justice services, training and consultation to juveniles, adults, families and the community at large.

Northern Arizona Restorative Justice, founded in 2005, is a regional organization and was the first and only community-based program in the Verde Valley offering high-impact intervention for juvenile first offenders, parents and victims using "best practice" restorative justice methods. Restorative practices consist of both proactive elements (defining shared values, building character and developing a sense of community) and reactive elements (consulting individually for minor infractions and providing group counseling or community circles for more serious infractions).

While Restorative Justice is a response to crime that has already occurred, "Restorative Practices" is a broader term that expands that effort through formal and informal school-based practices that proactively foster healthy relationships, decrease disciplinary disparities, promote social-emotional learning, and promote accountability to help prevent wrongdoing from happening in the first place. When the culture and climate of a school are improved, students become more engaged, which has been shown to result in improved attendance, higher academic performance, fewer suspensions and arrests, and increased graduation rates. Over the passed 5 years, Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District has continued the implementation of restorative practices and as a result, we have seen a 75% decrease in suspensions.

Currently, we provide services to both Coconino and Yavapai County. NARJ, in partnership with the Yavapai County Detention Center, leads restorative circles with families and their loved ones through the Journey program. We are developing a mentorship with Summit High School in Flagstaff, volunteering time to help facilitate circles and mentor youth.

"When we think about strong communities and building a strong world around us, to me, it starts with our children and how we teach them to interact with one another." - Naya Persaud, Former Principal of Oak Creek Elementary School and Restorative Practice Facilitator

In addition to our services, we provide free Restorative Practice Facilitator Workshops three to four times a year through Northern Arizona. The workshops are available to community and organizations looking to improve social climate and strengthen connections.

Our work has a powerful impact not only on the people we work with directly, but on the larger community as a whole.

Testimonials

"Over the past three years, Northern Arizona Restorative Justice (NARJ) has become an integral partner to the Journey program by providing restorative circles to the juvenile program participants and their families. These circles work to address and foster repair to the damaged relationships between youth and their families as a result of the behavioral issues and broken trust that often accompany substance abuse issues. As relationships have been built between families and NARJ staff throughout the Journey program, NARJ has stepped up to provide ongoing connection and community support to these high-risk juveniles as they transition back to living in a community setting. NARJ has become a crucial resource to Journey, as well as other Juvenile Probation programs. More than once, these programs have experienced major conflicts between peer participants or between participants and staff, that could have easily led to violations of probation and removal of participants from these programs. NARJ has been instrumental in facilitating emergency conflict resolution circles in response to these incidents in order to develop a plan that allows all participants the opportunity to move forward successfully." Kacey Smith, Yavapai County Juvenile Probation - Senior Juvenile Probation Officer and Former Special Program Coordinator.

"Restorative Justice looks at what can be corrected, what can be achieved in a more positive manner. Restorative Justice was a healing process for all of us." Anonymous Beneficiary

"Participating in the Northern Arizona Restorative Practice training was such an engaging and insightful experience. The facilitators were excellent, true experts in the field and created a space that encouraged meaningful participation and practice throughout. I deeply appreciated the diversity within the group and the rich stories that were shared, which brought so much depth and perspective to the training. The experience not only deepened my understanding but also opened my heart to the transformative potential of restorative practices." Pearl Santillan, First Things First - Regional Director of the Coconino Regional Partnership Council