‘Building community together.’ What to know about a new restorative justice program in Centre County
A new restorative justice program in Centre County is scheduled to launch this month.
Centre County Community Conferencing aims to bring people who have disputes together alongside a neutral third-party facilitator.
There are three tracks — court diversion, neighborhood disputes and reentry for inmates — and each are voluntary and free.
Elizabeth Siegelman, who plays a central role as the program’s facilitator coordinator, recently shared additional details about the program, how to get involved and more.
Centre Daily Times: How would you describe restorative justice?
Elizabeth Siegelman: Restorative justice is about putting power and decision-making back into the hands of the community and allowing them to create mutually beneficial resolutions that restore relationships and renew faith in community-led justice systems.
We’re saying, “You’re part of the community,” even if you’ve committed a crime or if there is a dispute or conflict that’s happening. We can resolve it together with our collective wisdom.
We’re trusting in each other and we’re building community together to restore a relationship that’s been broken by a conflict, dispute or crime.
Rather than being punitive — in the way that our current criminal justice system can be — and separating you from community, we’re saying, “You’re part of the community. How can we learn and grow from this experience and not repeat it?”
CDT: How does the neighborhood dispute track work?
ES: Let’s say you have a neighbor whose dog keeps going to the bathroom in your front yard, they’re not cleaning it up and it’s making you angry. Instead of calling the landlord or the police, you could send a referral to us and then we would talk to both parties.
They’d sit down in a room together and then the facilitator would ask three very simple questions: What happened? How have people been affected? How can the harm be repaired and prevented from happening again?
That is what a community conference looks like in practice. Everybody gets a chance to be heard and listened to and to write a resolution.
Instead of people yelling at each other or calling the police — because this example doesn’t seem like a very good reason to call the police — we can facilitate a conversation.
CDT: How does the court diversion program work?
ES: This could be something like a college student being drunk and disorderly, which I’m fairly certain is something that’s quite common in this university town.
We could sit down with them and maybe a resource person from the university because they’re also a stakeholder in this. Our town is unique in that it has this huge university presence and sometimes they can be really separate. We want to bridge that gap and allow the college community to feel part of the State College community.
So instead of going through the court system and them having this on their record, we could facilitate a conversation and come up with a resolution. I’d follow up to make sure it’s been resolved and then I’d give that information to a district judge so the charges can be dropped and it doesn’t have to be on their record.
CDT: How does the reentry track work for Centre County Correctional Facility inmates?
ES: We’re not meeting to discuss why the person is incarcerated. We’re meeting to discuss how their incarceration has affected them and their support system.
It’s about preparing people for life on the outside and helping them to be successful on the outside. What do you need? Do you have a place to live? Do you have access to food?
Not everybody leaves the jail with all of those resources already figured out. Incarceration can separate you from your family, so we reach out and connect those people again so they can rebuild relationships once they are released.
CDT: How do you think this program will better Centre County?
ES: This program is responding to and occurring with the cultural shift in the way that we do our criminal justice system and policing. We want to be part of that change.
This is an alternative and it’s an example of how we can create community rather than isolate people. Jails serve a very important purpose, but it can be really hard for people to reenter the community after incarceration. It can be hard for people to get jobs if they have a record.
We’re trying to offer an alternative that can help people to meet this moment of cultural change of how we do policing. It’s empowering people to solve their own problems.
CDT: How can people get involved?
ES: Referrals can be sent to referrals@cacj.us or by calling 814-810-7196.
Additional information about the program can be gathered by emailing program Director Caryn Blanchard at cblanchard@cacj.us. Those interested in becoming a volunteer facilitator can email ersiegelman@cacj.us.
This story was originally published May 2, 2021 at 7:00 AM.