Last week I posted a link to a story about a school district that invited representatives of local churches to learn about its implementation ofrestorative practices. Today I have news of a program I recently learned about that involves a partnership between faith congregations and organizations that provide restorative services to communities. Shalem Mental Health Network has the news on its web site:
Shalem and the International Institute of Restorative Practices (IIRP) – Canada have embarked together on the Hosting Project, where faith communities of all faiths – Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish and other – act as hosts of restorative processes that happen in their local communities. Hosting connects deeply with themes of hospitality and sanctuary that are central to all of the world’s major religions.
Our aim? To encourage the use of Family Group Decision-Making – a restorative process happening right in your own community. FGDM meetings typically require space that has multiple rooms, a kitchen and a nursery, and they are best held at a neutral site local to the family.
Currently, Shalem and IIRP-Canada are currently partnering with Blue Hills Child and Family Centre, based in Aurora, Ontario, to provide hosting services for the Family Group Decision-Making meetings they run in the Central East Region of Ontario. Blue Hills organizes all of the FGDM meetings in this region, in partnership with The Simcoe County, York, Durham, Kawartha-Haliburton and Northumberland Children’s Aid Societies. We are also partnering with Community Justice Initiatives, which organizes FGDM meetings in the greater Kitchener/Waterloo area and much of the Central West Region of Ontario.
More information can be found at Shalem's web site here: HOSTING: Restorative Practice in Communities | Shalem Mental Health Network.
More information about Family Group Decision Making can be found at IIRP's Family Power project web site. Click here.
