This story was originally published by the White River Valley Herald on April 10, 2025
At the Community Restorative Justice Center in St. Johnsbury, non-violent offenders are referred to reparative panels as an alternative to a punitive approach to justice. Vermont State University (VTSU) students completing their Restorative Justice Program internships participate in these panels, which offer the responsible party the opportunity to communicate and learn in an environment with their peers. The goals are to help the individuals learn from their mistakes, keep them out of the corrections system, and thus reduce the likelihood they will re-offend.
In addition to the reparative panels for low-level offenses, the Community Restorative Justice Center offers a year-long, weekly program— Circles of Support and Accountability, or COSA—an even more in-depth option that serves people returning from incarceration, or those who have committed more serious offenses. While the restorative justice goals are the same for both processes, they serve different populations and different community needs.
“This is a fully interactive effort,” said Susan Russell, reentry program coordinator at the center. “The students are fully trained, background checked, and oriented to the reparative panel process and participate for up to a year. The goal of this work is to identify the impact of a person’s behavior on a person who has been harmed or on the community, to think about the types of amends that can be made, to make the harmed party or the community whole, and to think about how to move forward in a healthier way.”
