Ten Years, Thousands of Lives
This May, PiRI celebrated ten years of incorporation -- a decade of trainings, facilitations and presentations in restorative practices for the schools, courts and communities of Western New York. We are honored to have had the opportunity to work with all of you and look forward to the next ten years of bringing restoratives practices into your homes and organizations.
Maybe you're one of the hundreds of people who've been trainined by us, or maybe you've been involved or affected by one of the hundreds of circles or conferences that have been conducted over the past ten years. Maybe you've heard from friends or co-workers about our mission and the idea of peaceful, respectful alternatives for relationship building and conflict management resonated with you. If you would like to help us continue our efforts into the next decade, there are several ways you contribute.
What does your donation help support? These are just a few of PiRI's activities in the past few years...
Restore Monroe Youth Leadership Camp was a two-week camp last summer that trained students from Monroe High School in restorative practices. After a week of training here in our offices, PiRI Trainers traveled with the students to High View Farm horse camp, where participants learned about responsibility while using circles on a daily basis.
PiRI Court Programs give a voice to victims and defendants in a safe environment. Over 40 court cases were referred to PiRI last year.
The International Visitors' Leadership Program is an exchange program of the U.S. State Department that brings over international professionals in key fields with the goal of building mutual understanding. In 2009, PiRI hosted a group of Israeli Jews and Palestinians, in addition to guests from the Rochester community, for lunch and a circle.
PiRI has been the main sponsor of the Western New York Restorative Justice Conference series. Last year, the Conference was expanded to two days, with 35 presentations by nearly two dozen speakers. Each session offered topics on education, the criminal justice system and the community.
PiRI is growing -- and we could use your help. If you'd like to use your skills for a good cause, PiRI is a great place to give back to the community while gaining valuable life experience.
Support PiRI and stay informed. Members receive our quarterly newsletter, vote on PiRI by-laws and are invited to our Annual Meeting. Membership costs only $25.
TAKE A TRAINING - Peace Circle Training with PiRI
What are Peace Circles? In a Peace Circle, a group of people come together with the help of a facilitator in a safe environment to build relationships and discuss issues of community and trust. The discussion flows around the circle along with the talking piece, an item handed from person to person as the discussion passes to the next speaker. Only the person holding the talking piece may speak, which allows for each participant to express his or her views without being interrupted.
What do Peace Circle bring to groups and communities?
- an opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together in a safe and supportive way
- improved communication skills and relationships
- new ways to solve conflicts, improves relationships
- a peaceful environment to build community
- build trust
A Community Conference is an ancient way of resolving problems. Victims and offenders voluntarily agree to participate. Offenders accept responsibility for the harm they caused. Conferences involve community members as well. Together these stakeholders determine through dialogue how to repair harms to the extent possible.