06-10-19 Community Realtions - Laserfiche WebLink

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SCITY OFSOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK don't choose to grab that in an impulsive moment that changes our lives. Maybe it ends another person's life. We need to have people we can go to, to work on those issues. So, this concept of building supportive relationships really hits many of our targets as the City of South Bend. Some are obvious. Reducing violence, school safety because it's done in partnership with South Bend Schools and people working on restorative practices there. Also, issues of mental health, reducing issues of people using drugs because often times that is a way we self-medicate because we have issues. Another thing that might not be thought of often is, as we move forward in economic development, in the interest of building diverse and inclusive neighborhoods, we can't just put people who are very different in that same space. By looking at systemic ways to bring people together in conversation to build relationships,we begin to learn to communicate across difference, so that when we have these diverse and inclusive neighborhoods, they are also peaceful communities where people don't have a lot of stress or strife.People begin to come together around where they are the same and they have less conflict around where they aren't. She went on, Borrowing the model we had when we did the Climate Change resolution, we have in front of you today, a draft of a resolution with a whole bunch of Whereas clauses to document the reasons we do this and what we are thinking of. Then the resolution is to really focus on how we can be intentional in creating these spaces and our presenters today are going to talk a little bit more about where they come from in terms of their expertise in this work. What their proposal is, first (1st), is a pilot to both gather more information and begin to do this work right away. Also, we want to use that as a springboard to build something systemic to do this work. Today I have two (2) amazing people and I will let them introduce themselves. They come to us, among other things, as members of the Restorative Justice Implementation Team through the South Bend Community Schools. Susan Sharp, 1504 East Colfax Avenue, stated, Thank you so much. I appreciate this invitation to be here. I am employed by the Center for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame. My title is the Advisor on Restorative Justice. I've been working in restorative justice for about twenty- five (25) years. I began this work in Canada, and then in Seattle before moving to South Bend. In that time, I began as a community volunteer during victim offender mediations in criminal cases. That lead to consulting. I've worked with restorative justice programs and agencies in Canada, the US, and in South Africa. That lead to teaching restorative justice as a college instructor before coming here to Notre Dame eight(8) years ago. In the eight(8) years I've been here, I, of course, have been advocating for restorative justice because I so believe in the potential that it brings. I have been talking about this and with people who are interested. I've been encouraging restorative justice and I have been adamant that we should not just start a restorative justice program. It is so important to have a comprehensive approach. Many people understand restorative justice in terms of one (1) of its practices. Some people understand it as school discipline, alternative sentencing, or community building. It can be all of those things. She continued, What is important to understand is that it is an overarching approach. It is a commitment to the belief that when people in our community have been harmed, we should make it a priority to repair that harm, rather than let it fester and grow worse. It is also a commitment to when people have caused harm, we hold them accountable in a way that is meaningful. We insist they step into responsibility. Not just punish them and send them away, but we should hold them accountable in a way that increases their responsibility and their sense of connection to the community. Third (3rd), it's a commitment to the fact we all share responsibility for justice in our classrooms, neighborhoods and our community. That is why I have been working with people to EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235 9173 TTD574.235.5567 sww.southbendin.gov 2