CASE STUDY
Community-Based
Restorative Justice
LOCATION
New York City
ACTIVE
2024-present
As part of the plan to safely shift New York City away from reliance on jails and toward a more equitable system, CUNY ISLG partnered with the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice to create the Community-Based Restorative Justice Initiative, funding grassroots organizations to incorporate restorative justice principles into their programming.
Challenge:
Within statehouses, nonprofit organizations, and living rooms across the country, there is growing recognition that a criminal legal system that prioritizes punishment is not the answer to long-term community safety. In fact, data shows that incarceration can increase likelihood of future crimes. Momentum for a more holistic, community-based approach to resolving conflict that addresses the root causes of crime is growing in its place.
Restorative justice (RJ) is a method of addressing harm that centers accountability; it engages both the person who perpetrated the harm as well as care and accountability to the person harmed by it. By bringing the two parties together with trained practitioners, this approach seeks to heal the survivor’s wounds while also taking the reparative actions necessary to prevent future harms. RJ can also take place proactively to prevent crime, build community, and strengthen dialogue around topics concerning the community.
Many of these efforts have been successful in solving conflict in a way that promotes healing and accountability without relying solely on punitive methods. Schools in Chicago that enacted restorative practices saw a 35 percent reduction in student arrests; in California, youth participating in a RJ program who were facing serious felony charges were 44 percent less likely to recidivate compared to those who were prosecuted through the traditional juvenile justice system. However, organizations often face challenges to implementing these programs. Small and grassroots organizations often struggle with insufficient funding, staffing, and time to properly train and implement restorative justice practices. Many rely on short-term grants, making it difficult to maintain programs over time. Tensions between “tough on crime” policies and RJ also complicate implementation: while RJ focuses on healing, accountability, and community restoration, tough-on-crime policies prioritize punishment and deterrence. This ideological conflict can create public perception challenges, with RJ being inaccurately seen as “soft” on crime.
In reality, it’s not an either/or, but a depends: RJ is not one-size-fits all. It is not suitable for all types of crime or every situation, and is less effective in cases involving power imbalances, safety concerns, or a lack of community support. Its effectiveness depends on the readiness of those involved—both the person harmed and the person who caused harm—to participate in open, honest dialogue and healing processes. It requires careful assessment and preparation to determine when and if RJ is appropriate, and trained professionals to administer it.
Approach:
Following New York City’s 2017 announcement of its plan to close the jails on Rikers Island, the De Blasio mayoral administration worked with the City Council to engage community stakeholders in the creation of a more equitable system, and solicited ideas for potential investments to make it happen. One of these investments was for a Community-Based Restorative Justice (CBRJ) Initiative.
An Advisory Committee, in collaboration with the Restorative Justice Initiative, released a report for City agencies and the City Council. The report outlines recommendations to help organizations strengthen or implement RJ services and activities. The primary focus was investing in small and grassroots organizations that have historically faced barriers to accessing public funding, as well as supporting specific neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by a lack of resources and high incarceration rates. Funding would go to starting or strengthening RJ practices within their services, as well as building overall organizational capacity.
Funding would go to starting or strengthening RJ practices within their services, as well as building overall organizational capacity.
The report emphasized that the procurement process should have a participatory grantmaking approach, meaning that those closest to impacted communities play a key role in decision-making during the procurement process. With this report in mind, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) engaged CUNY ISLG to implement an end-to-end process including solicitation and subsequent support to grantees via operational, strategic, and programmatic training and technical assistance.
Progress:
In July 2024, we completed the solicitation process by selecting 16 grantees. The recipients’ RJ proposals fell into three categories: community-based programming, training and technical assistance, and fellowships. Grant winners include established organizations, such as the East Harlem-based alternative-to-incarceration program Getting Out And Staying Out (GOSO), along with newly established ones, including Mazorca Colectiva, which draws on ancestral practices to provide grassroots community healing in Queens. For the latest updates on their work, see the Grantee Yearbook.
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Design and implement community-based, culturally responsive restorative justice programs.
Dare to Revitalize Education through Arts & Mediation (D.R.E.A.M.!) (The Bronx): will scale up their pilot initiative, Complex Harmony, to build restorative practice-based youth-centered school cultures at the five Evander Childs campus schools. Programming will include arts-integrated peer mediation programming, restorative practices training, conflict resolution workshops, family workshops, media and arts workshops, and coaching.
Faith in Harm Reduction (The Bronx and Manhattan): will work in partnership with people with lived experience to build communities of care with people impacted by overdose, trauma, stigma of substance use, and racialized drug policy. FIHR’s programming will include restorative/healing justice circle work, outreach and spiritual care, and monthly community of practice gatherings.
Getting Out And Staying Out (GOSO) (Manhattan - East Harlem): will integrate healing circles and peacekeeping into its ATI and diversion programming and with those at-risk of becoming involved with the legal system; expand its non-traditional art, horticulture, and exercise therapy offerings; and host community events that incorporate restorative modalities, as well as provide a pathway for individuals to become further involved in restorative justice programming.
Justice Innovation (CJI) (Citywide - Midtown): The Center for Justice Innovation’s Midtown Community Justice Center will expand its Youth PACT (Positively Advancing in Community Together) program, a 90-day diversion program for New York City youth ages 14-17 arrested for weapons possession. The program utilizes restorative practices to build on the young person’s strengths, engage the supportive people in their lives, and provide a forum for meaningfully addressing harm.
Make the Road New York (Brooklyn - Bushwick): will further build restorative justice programming into their Youth Power Project (YPP), by establishing a Restorative Justice Youth Leaders corps (RJYL) at the Bushwick Campus Community School as well as offering RJ programming to students and youth in their community centers.
Mazorca Colectiva (Queens): will create peacemaking circles following ancestral wisdom from the Muysca, Dine, and Lakota Peoples. The circles intend to aid in conflict resolution, healing, and community empowerment. Mazorca Colectiva will also continue tending to the Lions Den and Peace Garden at the East Elmhurst Community School, which has been a space for gathering and community building.
Violence Intervention Program (VIP) (Citywide): will serve Latinx domestic violence survivors and their families, with the goal of giving a voice to survivors of intimate partner violence, creating accountability for those that harmed them, and providing a new option for those seeking community-based support.
We Build the Block (Brooklyn): will expand Heal the Violence, which uses targeted cognitive behavioral therapy interventions and restorative practices to serve three additional cohorts of young adults in Brooklyn-based housing developments experiencing gun violence. Programming includes healing circles, case management, and support from a licensed social worker.
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Offer training and/or technical assistance on restorative justice principles and practices to organizations or individuals for the purpose of designing and/or implementing restorative justice activities in their communities.
Common Justice (Citywide): will train frontline staff and leaders of Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs, including neighborhood- and hospital-based violence interrupter programs, to integrate an understanding and basic practice of restorative justice into their work. Training may include: survivor-centered solutions, accountability, circle facilitation, and safety planning, among other topics.
Erika Sasson (Citywide): will provide technical assistance to small organizations designing and implementing restorative justice programming in unique areas and offer an advanced facilitation training curriculum for committed practitioners who need to hone their skills, with a focus on gender-based violence and serious violent harm.
Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility (Citywide): will work with school staff and leaders, students, and families from four schools, as well as CBOs and other community stakeholders to integrate restorative practices in communities across Northern Manhattan.
Restorative Justice Initiative (Fund for the City of New York): will, through their Restorative Justice Leadership Pathway (RJLP), offer: cohort-based training for community members who wish to build restorative justice skills, identify best practices, and develop culturally competent RJ programming, along with Citywide Roundtables on Restorative Approaches, which serve as an introduction to Circle practice and an experiential learning opportunity.
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Design and implement a restorative justice paid fellowship for individuals interested in doing restorative justice work within their communities.
Change Impact (Citywide): will create a Restorative Practice and Justice Fellowship for young adults who will receive intensive and immersive RP and RJ training followed by placement in a youth development program. This fellowship will be implemented as part of the CUNY School of Professional Studies’ Working the Gap initiative, which provides young adults with paid work experience to support youth mental health and community wellness, including RP and RJ. The fellowship will include 5 credits that stack into a bachelor’s degree, should participants continue with their studies beyond the fellowship.
Institute for Transformative Mentoring (Citywide): will be leading a fellowship for graduates of their Transformative Mentoring course who are Credible Messengers (system impacted mentors) interested in developing new restorative justice and mutual aid programs in their communities. The fellows’ training, which will include developing an action plan, principles of restorative justice, and foundations of healing, will culminate in conducting circles in their communities.
Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (The Bronx): will develop a three-tiered fellowship that will utilize a train-the-trainer model that allows older youth to train and mentor younger youth in restorative justice. These three tiers will include: Masters of Social Work interns; undergraduate students, and middle and high school students and/or youth who are out-of-school and out-of-work (OSOW).
Radical Health (Citywide): will conduct a Restorative Health Circle Fellowship for individuals who are impacted by, or work closely with people affected by mental health issues and/or substance use disorder. The fellowship will train community members in how to facilitate traditional and specifically focused circles on healthcare navigation, mental health support, drug use, and overdose in a compassionate and non-judgmental manner. Fellows will gain skills to help their communities navigate the healthcare system more effectively, ensuring better access to care and support services.
These grantees embarked on a 12-month planning and implementation process. Each program is receiving up to $300,000, based on the size and scale of their program, with additional funding available to support an extension of the implementation period. Stay tuned for updates in summer 2026 on what these grantees accomplished and what’s next.
Contact Nathalie Lebrón at nathalie.lebron@islg.cuny.edu for more information.
