CRC expands our Restorative Justice work to young adults!
A grant helps us bring Victim Offender Dialogues to 18-25 year olds, and allows for families to work together to ensure their incarcerated loved ones lead successful lives after jail. Read about it here>
CRC co-sponsors Smart on Crime Santa Cruz County.
The first public education forum of this innovative program was held on Monday, May 23rd, from 7:00PM - 9:00PM at Live Oak Elementary School at 1916 Capitola Road. Smart on Crime is a partnership between scholars, justice professionals, government leaders, and the community dedicated to a more effective criminal justice system. This public education forum was the first of a series with local and national experts who will share information about the challenges we face with: jail and prison overcrowding; the impact of State budget problems on our local justice system; and strategies to reduce re-offending, improve public safety and save tax dollars. For information contact:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Read a Santa Cruz Sentinel article about Smart on Crime here.
FAM Project co-hosts free divorce mediation workshop
The Conflict Resolution Center's latest program, the FAM Project, helps families seeking divorce with an affordable alternative to going to court. FAM and the Self-Help Center for Santa Cruz Superior Court host a workshop to explain the process Friday September 17th from 3:30-5pm at the Santa Cruz County Law Library. The Santa Cruz Sentinel ran an article explaining how the FAM Project fulfills a real need in the community, which you can read by clicking the link below.
Read the 09/04/2010 artlcle here: Conflict Resolution Center offers divorce mediation; free workshop Sept. 17
Download the FAM Project brochure: CRC Divorce Mediation
Restorative Justice receives local coverage
The Conflict Resolution Center's Director of Restorative Justice Programs, Vicki Assegued, M.A.was interviewed recently--not only for weekly paper The Good Times, but also in a panel moderated by Louis LaFortune on the Community Television of Santa Cruz County show Voices from the Village. We hope this coverage increases community awareness of this very important and effective approach for handling crime. CRC is grateful for our partnership with the Santa Cruz County Probation Department, which helps make our Restorative Justice work possible.
Read the 07/14/2010 cover article here: Restorative Justice: The art of sharing power and responsibility to create community
Watch the 08/08/2010 panel here: Voices From The Village: Restorative Justice
Learn about our Restorative Justice work here: CRC's Restorative Justice services
Global Leader for Peace speaks in Santa Cruz
The Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz and friends of the Academy For Peace are proud to host a talk by Rita Marie Johnson on May 21st at 7:30pm at the First Congregational Church. In this talk, Ms, Johnson will share an extraordinary practice which she has termed BePeace®. She is the founder of the Rasur Foundation and the Academy for Peace of Costa Rica. She initiated a bill to create a Ministry for Peace in Costa Rica which has now become law.
Ms. Johnson developed the practice of BePeace to help individuals to “Feel peace, speak peace and teach peace.” Feeling peace is the ability to remain coherent under stress. Speaking peace is the ability to connect with others empathically and honestly through compassionate communication. When you feel peace and speak peace, you can BePeace and teach others this practice as well.
In the last 3 years, BePeace has been taught with remarkable results in schools in Costa Rica, to graduate students from 16 countries at the United Nations University for Peace, and to participants from 10 countries at the 2009 Summit of the Global Alliance of Ministries and Departments for Peace. BePeace has been initiated in 8 states in the USA, as well as Canada, Europe and Central America.
Ms. Johnson says, “I yearned all my life to be a peacemaker, but I was missing a solid ‘how-to’. With the practice of BePeace, I improve every day in my ability to actually model peace. I am a different person than I was five years ago because of this skill. People are amazed at how quickly they can begin to have transformative experiences using BePeace.”
Ms. Johnson will talk about BePeace on Friday, May 21, 2010, at 7:30PM at First Congregational Church in Fellowship Hall, 900 High Street, Santa Cruz. Admission: free; donations accepted. For further information, call Louise or Joel Wallock at (831) 685-2685.
For more information about Rita Marie Johnson, the Academy for Peace of Costa Rica and the Rasur Foundation, visit www.rasurinternational.org, and www.academyforpeacecr.org, or write to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Other News and Magazine Articles
Small claims disputes routed into mediation at local courts
Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, June 28, 2008
Read Article >
Court mediation services expanded in Watsonville
Santa Cruz Sentinel, June 28, 2008
Read Article >
More mediation services added to Santa Cruz County court docket
Santa Cruz Sentinel, October 9, 2007
Read Article >
Mediation helps heal emotional wounds of Brook Knoll vandalism
Santa Cruz Sentinel, October 23, 2006
Read Article >
Conflict Resolution Center helps businesses resolve workplace strife
Santa Cruz Sentinel, October 23, 2005
Read Article >
Watsonville Neighbors Work Together to Resolve Conflicts
California Healthy Cities and Communities Center for Civic Partnerships "Connections", Fall 2005
Download PDF >
Radio Interview
Santa Cruz County Courts Encourage Mediation Instead of Small Claims Litigation
KUSP FM Talk of the Bay, October 23, 2007
http://www.centralcoastpublicradio.org/ondemand/get/totb-2007-10-23.m3u
Press Releases
October 2, 2007Superior Court of Santa Cruz County, in Partnership with Conflict Resolution Center, Expands Mediation Services to Promote Better Community Dispute Resolution and Reduce Small Claims Caseload.
Read the complete article superiorCourt.pdf >
March 7, 2006
Disputing Neighbors Find Satisfying Solutions Through Community Mediation Program
Read the complete article DisputingNeigh.pdf >
Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz County Offers Worskhops and On-Site Training for Effective Conflict Management.
Read the complete article LocalNon.pdf >
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