This workshop is prepared by the Church Council on Justice and Corrections (CCJC) and its membership in collaboration with Correctional Service Canada ( CSC ) – Chaplaincy. It is intended to assist faith communities, including Christian Churches and other Houses of Worship (such as Mosques, Synagogues, etc.) in promoting the values of restorative justice within their communities during Restorative Justice Week.

This two-hour workshop is the second of a series of three. The first is an experiential experience of a restorative process; this workshop focuses on meeting the needs of victims. The remaining workshop will be made available for Restorative Justice Week 2010. You may chose to use these workshops at separate occasions or combine them to organize a full-day event once they are available.

You may choose to start this workshop with a prayer or reading of a related sacred text. More faith resources are available on CCJC's and CSC 's websites:

CCJC: www.ccjc.ca/restorative_justice

CSC Chaplaincy : http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rj/rj2008/lett-eng.shtml & again here: http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/prgrm/chap/faith/sr-eng.shtml for various faith communities.

For information on how to obtain other materials on Restorative Justice Week 2009, please visit our website www.ccjc.ca/restorative_justice.html

This workshop was prepared by the Church Council on Justice and Corrections (CCJC) and representatives from supporting denominations in collaboration with the Correctional Service of Canada.

Please take a moment to provide us feedback on materials we prepared for RJ Week 2009 by completing a quick survey available on our website: www.ccjc.ca/restorative_justice.html

Contents

• Introduction
• General instructions for the workshop facilitator
• Workshop agenda
• Guided Reflection
• Empathy Quartet
• Human Needs inventory

Introduction

Goal: This workshop will give the participants an opportunity to explore how we as people of faith can respond to victims' concerns in the aftermath of crime…and how we may serve justice in this time of need.

Objectives

Participants will have

1. A time to reflect on their own experiences of victimization, and consider what helped them during that time.
2. An appreciation of the importance of empathetic listening skills for those who have been harmed.
3. An opportunity to think about their role in responding to victims' needs, and the role of their faith community

(These objectives should not be shared with the participants, so that they can determine their own goals as the workshop progresses - they may differ from the above suggestions).)

This workshop is intended for 6-20 participants, and is designed to last approximately 2 hours, without a break. It is a very full workshop, so you may wish to schedule 2 ½ to 3 hours to allow for more depth and richness in sharing, opening and closing prayers and worship. It should be facilitated by at least two people.

General instructions for the workshop facilitator

Facilitators will require:

Flip-chart, markers, tape or blue tack

Scrap paper and pens for group work (post-it notes may be useful)

Human Needs Sheets – sufficient copies for each participant (attached p.11 )

Copies of Cards or photocopies of sheets for sharing during the "Empathy Quartet" portion of the workshop:

These cards are in sets of five; four with titles, and one with scenarios. These need to be either photocopied or written out in advance.

Information on local organizations concerned with justice issues (a restorative justice agency, victims advocacy group or prisoner advocacy group, e.g. John Howard Society, for example; contact the Church Council on Justice and Corrections for assistance with this if needed). You can find CCJC's contact information on their website: www.ccjc.ca

Information for resources table , including a bibliography (one is available on CSC 's website – http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rj/rj2007/ch1-eng.shtml – resources from 2007), CCJC brochures, Restorative Justice Week Materials, local organizations' contact information or brochures, "How to talk to your MP i.e. Member of Parliament" materials (If you need assistance please contact CCJC).

Resource Person, if possible, to assist with questions during debriefing of Part III (may be community justice facilitator or someone well versed with how these programs function – please note that they look different in every community !).

Refreshments for sharing after or during the workshop (if desired).

Setup:

The room should be set with chairs in a circle, without any tables, sufficient for everyone to be seated including the facilitator(s). A table at one side for displays, information, and one for refreshments will be helpful.

Workshop Agenda:

You may wish to post this on a flip chart for participants

(see pages following for instructions for activities)

Please add an opening/closing prayer or text to the agenda if you so desire.

Time	Activity
5 minutes	Introduction of facilitators, housekeeping (washrooms, refreshments, etc.)
15 minutes	Opening circle with talking piece: "Please share your name and what you, as a person of faith, believe you can do to help meet victims' needs…in one or two words."
15 minutes	Guided Reflection, with short debriefing
10 minutes	Activity: Empathy Quartet Introduction
45 minutes	Small group work – The Empathy Quartet (in groups of five)
15 minutes	Debriefing of small group work, conversation about resilience
5 minutes	Next steps – share resources that have been set on a table; ask if there are any further questions that were raised by this exercise. Resource people may be able to answer questions, or they can be sent for responses to resource people at CCJC via the facilitators.
15 minutes	Closing circle with talking piece: "As a community of faith, what can we do to help meet human needs in the aftermath of crime?" (You may want to ask the question "What do we need to be better prepared to meet the needs of those who have experienced crime?"

Guided Reflection

Note: In preparation for this exercise, think about a well-known figure from your faith tradition who experienced harm or persecution. Their story will be used in this exercise; you want to choose someone everyone will be familiar with.

The facilitator will assist participants in considering their needs when harm was done to them. Hand out the "Human Needs" sheet appended to this package, one per person.

Ask for quiet, and then say something like this:

"You may know about the story of ______; of how he (or she) was persecuted and hurt by those around them, even though he (or she) didn't deserve it. (You may want to reflect a commonly known story of victimization. 1) I want you to imagine what that victimization might have been like for them, and think about what they were feeling at the time."

Give the attendees 15 seconds or so to consider this; do not leave participants too long to dwell on this situation; be aware that some people in the group have experienced severe trauma and this is not a time for them to be dwelling on personal trauma as the expertise to process this harm is beyond the capacity of this workshop.

After 15 seconds, ask the participants to look at the "Human Needs" sheet and consider what needs they think were particularly alive for this person at the time they were victimized. Scribe a brainstorm of the needs that are identified by the group. Post this brainstorm on the wall for the next exercise.

The Empathy Quartet

(This exercise was developed at the Crisis Centre in Vancouver , and has been used extensively for training restorative justice workers in empathic listening. We thank the Crisis Line for generously sharing this exercise with the field of restorative justice.)

Facilitator notes: This exercise is designed for groups of five people; you may need to join groups or ‘play' with numbers to satisfy this organizational requirement. The experience is much more powerful for those who participate than it is for those who observe.

You will require cards in sets of five, enough sets to equal the number of groups of five you will have. The cards or photocopies will have the following on them:

Card 1:

Scenarios: pick a scenario from the following list to tell your friend about. You are hoping your friend will listen to your problem.

• You have just returned home after working all day to find your teenager has forgotten to turn on dinner … again … and your partner had an important meeting. Everyone is angry, hungry and tense.
• Your daughter left towels all over the bathroom again – and you are hosting your boss for dinner. You are so embarrassed!
• Your boss forgot to ask for a report that is due tomorrow afternoon – so you have to go to work tomorrow and finish the report. It was supposed to be your day off.
• The choir director at your church has just announced that the new robes the choir will be wearing are red – and you think they will look awful.
• You just want a few minutes to yourself when you get home from work; a time to decompress and unwind. Your partner immediately launches into a daily litany of all the problems that he/she experienced. You love your partner, but…well…enough!
• Your parents promised you could have the car tonight to take your friends to the movies – you've been looking forward to it all week. Then your grandma called, and there is some kind of ‘crisis' – so no car for you.

Card 2:

The Advisor

Card 3:

The Minimizer

Card 4:

The Cheerleader

Card 5:

The Active Listener

Write a quadrant on a flipchart paper, with the following titles on each quadrant:

The Advisor	The Minimizer
The Cheerleader	The Active Listener

Begin this exercise in a circle, with an introduction like the following:

One of the things we know helps people who have been hurt is for them to be listened to: truly, actively listened to, with compassion and concern. Sometimes we respond when people are telling us something difficult and we think we are helping, or even being empathetic, but really we aren't. Today we are going to experience some of the ways we respond that don't help, and some of the ways that do.

Sometimes when someone tells us about a time they have been hurt, we want to help them so we give them advice . (Give an example of this, like "Oh, I know, Aunt Sally – when that happened to me we got mice traps and that solved the problem.)

Sometimes we try to minimize their story. "You know, Uncle Bob, Bethany isn't as bad as all that. I know she means well – and it isn't so hard to wash your car for your niece, is it?"

Sometimes we hope that cheerleading will help them. "Oh, Frank, you are so good with your hands, I bet you were able to fix that broken window without anyone being able to tell it was ever broken! You are so handy!"

All of these techniques actually serve to take the attention away from the person you want to listen to. It sends the message that you don't want to hear about their experience.

Today we are going to have a chance to try each one of these, and a chance to show we can be active listeners.

Then, ask for a short brainstorm of what Active Listening looks like. Make sure everyone knows what skills will help convey "Active Listening" (no interrupting, nodding, asking open or clarifying questions, maintaining appropriate eye contact, facing the person, reflecting back a perceived feeling etc.)

Explain the following steps:

• We are going to break into groups of five. Everyone is going to have a chance to roleplay every part. When we get into the group, each person should take a card. The person with the Scenarios picks ONE scenario they are comfortable with. They turn to the person holding the card that says "The Advisor", and tells them a short story about their scenario.
• The Advisor responds with some advice. Wait a few seconds for the experience to sink in.
• Secondly, the person holding the scenarios turns to The Minimizer, and tells the same story again.
• The Minimizer reminds them of a reason why this isn't really so difficult an experience.
• Then the person holding the scenario turns to The Cheerleader, and again tells them about the same scenario.
• The Cheerleader tries to encourage the person, with a reminder of how well they can handle things, because of their unique skills.
• Finally, the person with the scenario turns to the Active Listener, and tells the story.
• The Active Listener spends one or two minutes empathizing with the person who wants to be heard.
• Encourage a few seconds of silence between each story/response and the next.
• This first round should take about 5-8 minutes.
• Then, everyone rotates the cards one person to the left remaining in their current groups, and they begin the sequence all over again. Everyone will have a chance to experience every role.
• When all the groups are finished, ask people to come back into the large circle to talk about their experiences.

Debriefing questions:

• How was that for you?
• What did you notice?
• Are there some roles you are more comfortable taking on than others? What do you usually do?

Finally, if there is time, do a quick brainstorm of feelings people experienced when they were responded to in each way, using the quadrant flipchart introduced earlier.

• How did it feel when you were given advice?
• What about when the person minimized your experience?
• How did it feel to receive "Cheerleading"?
• What did it feel like to be actively listened to?

Scribe the feelings onto the larger sheet. Ask if anyone has anything else they would like to share.

Finally ask the question "How does active listening meet the needs of victims? What needs can be met this way?" (People can refer to the Human Needs sheets again.)

AFTER THIS SECTION IS COMPLETED, REFER TO THE AGENDA ON PAGE 5 TO END THE WORKSHOP WITH AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PARTICIPANTS TO ASK OTHER QUESTIONS & EXPLORE RESOURCES FOLLOWED BY A CLOSING CIRCLE .

Human Needs inventory

The following list of needs is neither exhaustive nor definitive. It is meant as a starting place to support anyone who wishes to engage in a process of deepening self-discovery and to facilitate greater understanding and connection between people.

CONNECTION
acceptance
affection
appreciation
belonging
cooperation
communication
closeness
community
companionship
compassion
consideration
consistency
empathy
inclusion
intimacy
love
mutuality
nurturing
respect/self-respect
safety
security
stability
support
to know and be known
to see and be seen
to understand and be understood
trust
warmth

HONESTY
authenticity
integrity
presence

PLAY
joy
humor

PEACE
beauty
communion
ease
equality
harmony
inspiration
order

PHYSICAL WELL -BEING
air
food
movement/exercise
rest/sleep
sexual expression
safety
shelter
solitude
touch
water

MEANING
awareness
celebration of life
challenge
clarity
competence
consciousness
contribution
creativity
discovery
efficacy
effectiveness
growth
hope
learning
mourning
participation
purpose
self-expression
stimulation
to matter
understanding

AUTONOMY
choice
freedom
independence
solitude
space
spontaneity