Restorative Justice For Oakland Youth (Rjoy)

MISSION RJOY’s mission is to fundamentally shift the way we respond to youthful wrongdoing from punitive approaches that inflict more harm to restorative approaches that repair it. Disparately impacting youth of color, punitive school discipline and juvenile justice policies have the unintended consequence of activating tragic cycles of incarceration, violence, unsafe schools and communities, and wasted lives. RJOY works to interrupt these cycles by promoting public and private shifts toward restorative responses to harm that actively engage youth, their victims, and their families, schools, and communities in a shared search for ways to repair it and prevent its recurrence. RJOY engages in public policy advocacy, offers training and technical assistance, and seeds restorative practices in schools, communities, and juvenile justice. We also focus on reducing racial disparities and public costs associated with high rates of incarceration, suspension, and expulsion.