Writing in Restorative Justice
Semester: Spring 2024
Faculty Advisor: Vanessa Petroj
Field Site: The Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project: Healing Futures
Field Supervisor: Felix Rosado
Praxis Poster:
LillianErst_Poster_Final_S24
Further Context:
This semester, I worked with the Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project: Healing Futures, (YASP) to continue projects I began last summer with Bryn Mawr College’s Summer of Service program. Healing Futures is a youth diversion program using Restorative Justice practices. The District Attorney’s office can refer a case to Healing Futures, where they go through a 12-week curriculum that fosters growth, reflection, and accountability in young people who have harmed another person. They write an apology letter to the person they hurt and share it out loud in a Restorative Community Conference—a Circle process. In these Circles, the Person Harmed and the Responsible Youth can discuss the experiences they’ve had revolving around the harm committed.
I used my experience as a Writing Center Tutor to support the initial stages of this process, where self-reflective writing is critical. I was inspired by the Freedom Writers Diary Teacher’s Guide, which provides several worksheets for in-classroom community building and writing strategies. I adapted these provided worksheets to fit the structure and setting of Healing Futures, which is shaped by closed, small group conversations. Alongside creating worksheets, I generated journal prompts and structured schedules for the curriculum to best support the process of Healing Futures. I focused on activities that explored self-assessment and reflection with the goal of building confidence in writing the apology letter.
I had the opportunity to share my work twice over the course of the semester. In March I attended the Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association’s annual conference, hosted at George Mason University. Here, I gave a presentation on the connections between my work at Healing Futures with my work at the Writing Center. Then, in April myself and my fellow intern at YASP, Kira Elliott, hosted a Teach-In on the power of writing. We compared the ways writing is used in the criminal (in)justice system versus in Restorative Justice practices, and what kind of social power we have with the written word. Being able to share my work with the broader community brought an extra layer of fulfillment to my Praxis experience, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities.