Youth Leadership Workshop

Over the 2021 summer, Spectrum employees, Kayla Loving, Carly Ngo and Stella Johnson, facilitated a Restorative Justice Youth Leadership workshop series that came together once a week. This series offered youth the knowledge, skills and strategies to create environments in which a community of respect, accountability, safety and trust can be cultivated and nurtured. We started each session with connection through food - sharing a meal from a local BIPOC-owned business. The workshop focused on various aspects of restorative justice circles, such as mindful moments, circle keepers, land acknowledgements, circle agreements and talking pieces. The purpose was to explore tools that will create a more inclusive and equitable learning community to establish societal values, restorative solutions and youth leadership. Restorative circle topics included identity, race, education, insecurities, mental health and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to facilitating restorative justice circles, youth also engaged in opportunities to help think more deeply about the topic for the week. Activities included completing identity maps, painting over insecurities, watching videos and playing games to break harmful assumptions. As the workshop comes to an end, the youth have gained the skills and ability to design and facilitate their own restorative circles while simultaneously upholding restorative justice values in their day-to-day lives.