On March 6, 2025, from noon until 1:00 p.m., the WVRJP will offer a free webinar to examine how Restorative Justice may be integrated into a community. Debbie Watters, a co-director and founder of Northern Ireland Alternatives (NIA), will join us. Northern Ireland Alternatives (NIA) is a government-accredited restorative justice program that aims to promote and develop non-violent community responses to the issues of low-level crime and antisocial behavior in areas across Northern Ireland.  Northern Ireland Alternatives is a central co-ordinating initiative aimed at embedding the philosophy and practice of restorative justice to peacefully address socially harmful activities and develop non-violent, innovative approaches to doing justice within local communities.

The program is designed to be more of a conversation, and four talented members of our community will engage Ms. Watters in a discussion that will help anyone understand ways to strengthen their community. Our guest facilitators include grAce assistant executive director Nicole Ann Bailey, Shepherd Univeristy Director of Counseling Wendy Baracka, Peer Re-Entry Program Coordinator Amber Blankenship, and West Virginia University College of Law student Gregory Robertson.