The Way You Restore Me - A Conversation About Restorative Justice

Prison Pipeline — Restorative Justice and Repair

This Monday, August 17th at 6:30 p.m., Prison Pipeline on KBOO Community Radio will explore a different way of thinking about justice: restorative justice. What happens when the goal of responding to harm isn't simply punishment, but accountability, repair, and helping both the person who was harmed and the person who caused the harm move forward?

Our guest is Theresa Huggins, Restorative Justice Program Manager with Lutheran Community Services Northwest. Theresa comes to this work through her own experience and years of advocacy for changes to the criminal legal system. In our conversation, she talks about how she discovered restorative justice and eventually pursued graduate study in conflict resolution so she could help develop programs that put those principles into practice.

We'll talk about the Portland Community Justice Partnership, which provides an opportunity in some cases for people who have caused harm to take responsibility and work toward repairing that harm without going through the traditional process of arrest and prosecution. Theresa explains how the program can give people who have been harmed a voice in determining what repair looks like, while giving those responsible an opportunity to take meaningful action rather than simply receiving punishment.

Theresa also shares a remarkable example involving a young Portland musician who accidentally damaged an older couple's vehicle. Instead of simply being arrested or ordered to pay restitution that he might not have been able to afford, he worked with the restorative justice program to find another way to make amends. He organized a fundraising concert using his own musical talents, with the proceeds going toward repairing the harm.

That story has continued beyond a single event. The young musician has gone on to organize another fundraiser, “The Way You Restore Me,” scheduled for Sunday, August 30th at Offbeat in North Portland. The event is designed not only to help compensate the people who were harmed, but also to support restorative justice programming. Theresa explains why she sees this as an example of accountability that can strengthen rather than isolate a person from their community.

Join us for Prison Pipeline this Monday, August 17th at 6:30 p.m. on KBOO Community Radio, 90.7 FM in Portland, or listen online at kboo.fm. We'll talk with Theresa Huggins about accountability, repairing harm, building healthier communities, and what justice might look like when we move beyond punishment as the only response to wrongdoing.