Restorative Justice in Newburgh, NY
The Restorative Center has been hosting community circles in Newburgh since 2015. In 2015, TRC was birthed at The Fullerton Center on Grand Street where a group of Newburgh residents and legal aid defense attorneys from NYC joined to open the door. Sourcing from international and local wisdom on community-based restorative justice, TRC set out on its journey to provide a model for cultivation and a sound method of storytelling to explore our shared experience so that we can use our lives and our connection to the elements to forge trust and alliance as we build a separate alternative to the criminal justice system.
Our circles form beyond the boundaries of 'safe spaces' because our circles hold no agendas; our circles provide equal space for everyone to express themselves with beautiful, vital authenticity. From this place of innermost identity, rooted in memory, family, and how our senses interact with our world, we reconnect with our neighbors in ways that are both ancient and present. Our circles guide us into the depth of humans being, into the realm where the interpersonal foundations of community foster strong, lasting connection. As we experience what the circle offers us, as we see and hear our oneness manifest in our neighbors, we bond and find the natural capacity to transform perception. We let go of procedures imposed upon us by institutions to share in the process of communion. Within the space we make together, we realign priorities to move beyond humiliation, embarrassment, and punishment so we can resolve conflict, generate healing, and agree upon restitution with understanding, affirmation, and appreciation.
TRC has held community circles at the AME Zion Church, Space Create and Grit Works, the Karpeles Museum, and Safe Harbors Green. These circles have focused on themes such as: access to clean drinking water, race relations, honoring the concept of motherhood, celebrating women as change agents, the power of human connection in neighborhoods, etc. In 2022, TRC’s fellow Alisha Kohn launched “The Mission of Healing Justice is Restorative Justice”, a pilot program in Newburgh that brings together the incarcerated, the loved ones of the incarcerated, the formerly incarcerated, and victims of harm in ongoing community circles and restorative justice trainings.
TRC has worked with high school students to develop a peer-based program for teenagers, collaborated with Mount Saint Mary College in its Restorative Justice course taught by Dr. Jennifer Lee-Gonyea, and has communicated effectively with the City Manager while working with the police department to provide an alternative to the criminal court system. The Newburgh, NY based version of TRC’s Teen Leaders and Youth Circle Leader Cohort program is run by TRC Program Director Gabrielle Burton-Hill, a life-long fifth generation resident of Newburgh, NY. The program trains Newburgh youth ages 12 and up in TRC’s “Newburgh Model” of restorative justice community circles.
TRC continues to facilitate basic training sessions, advanced topic workshops, and community circles throughout Newburgh. As we nurture and grow our presence in Newburgh with more community, affinity, and other types of circles, we look forward to welcoming your experience, wisdom, and hope.