Restorative Justice is quickly emerging as a desired set of principles and practices to mediate conflict, strengthen community, and repair harm in multiple contexts. It is currently practiced in schools, community groups, and along the entire continuum of the justice process, whether as an alternative to incarceration, education program in prisons or for re-entry. It is used by social workers, students, justice advocates, professors, school teachers, psychologists, community activists, and others in the U.S. and around the globe, most notably in South Africa and New Zealand. This session is a continuation of the morning keynote panel. In the first half of the session, Sonya Shah will offer a deeper overview of restorative justice — its history, current applications and evidence-based successes and continue to explore the most critical questions emerging in the field of restorative justice. In the second part of this session, Gary Malachi Scott will engage the group in a circle process — utilizing the heart of a restorative justice practices.
"A crippled politics of access and engagement …. yearning for an “elsewhen” - in which disability is understood ….. as political, as valuable as integral. (Kafer presents) … a hybrid political/relational model …..mak(ing) room for people to acknowledge – even mourn – a change in form or function while also acknowledging that those changes can not be understood apart from the context in which they occur. …. allow(ing) for important questions about healthcare and social justice (Kafer, 2013, pp. 3-6)." In this workshop we will talk about relational, political, existential, & practical issues clients face living with physical disabilities & chronic illnesses. We will explore how the above quote from Kafer challenges those with and without disabilities to engage this issue. Presenter will encourage participants to draw on their wisdom in this discussion. Reference: Kafer, A. (2013). Feminist, queer, crip. Indiana University Press.