Mission
The mission of the Finger Lakes Restorative Justice Center is to transform individuals, organizations, and communities, through education, advocacy, and implementation of restorative justice principles and practices, thereby redressing harm, restoring peace, improving relationships, reducing violence, promoting healing, and building better communities.
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Organizational History
In 1997, members of the Judicial Process Commission in Rochester, New York learned about restorative justice and became excited about the possibility of introducing restorative justice processes locally.
In 1998, Wilbur Bontrager, a graduate of Eastern Mennonite University’s Conflict Transformation Program, met with Commission members to discuss a victim-offender mediation process called “Sentencing Circles” or “Family Group Conferencing”
As a result of this discussion, two workshops were held and national restorative justice leader Howard Zehr spoke at the Annual Meeting of the Judicial Process Commission.
Zehr’s visit empowered restorative justice proponents to reach out to Rochester’s Chief of Police and Mayor, our Congresswoman, and a fledgling youth violence reduction program.
Later that year Rochester Police Department staff received training in “Real Justice” and began the Juvenile Accountability Conferencing program using these methods.
In May 2000, the organization was incorporated and its first Board of Directors was formed. In 2002, the Finger Lakes Restorative Justice Center received its status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity.
Its first offices were donated by Third Presbyterian Church of Rochester, New York.
Founder Will Bontrager served as the organization's first Director, assisted by Mimi Turner-Brower.
Following Mimi's sudden death at age 40 in September 2003, FLRJC dedicated its booklet, An Introduction to Restorative Justice to Mimi.
In 2004 the offices were moved to South Presbyterian Church.
Dr. Mary Jeanette Ebenhack began volunteering with FLRJC, and was later invited to be a codirector will Will Bontrager.
When Will took a full-time job in Restorative Justice in 2005, Dr. Ebenhack continued as codirector, with the Board of Directors serving as the second codirector.
FLRJC's programs continued to grow: in addition to the annual Fall Conference first held in 2004, FLRJC held two trainings per year in Peacemaking Circles and two in Community Conferencing.
FLRJC was increasingly invited to present in other forums, provided facilitators for the Rochester Police Department's Juvenile Accountability Conferencing program, continued to advocate for restorative justice options in our court system, and started reaching out to schools.
At our Fall 2005 annual conference, FLRJC launched the Western New York Restorative Justice Coalition.
When Dr. Ebenhack retired from her work at FLRJC in spring 2006, she and her husband, Ben Ebenhack, gave a $10,000 Challenge Matching Grant to FLRJC to help us find an excellent Executive Director.
FLRJC moved into its new, permanent home in Rochester Area Mennonite Fellowship's new church building at 111 Hillside Avenue in Rochester, on April 30, 2007.
Following a six month Interim Executive Director position filled by Ben Douglas from fall 2006 to spring 2007, FLRJC hired Mark Klemens as Executive Director.
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