WHAT WE DO
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WHAT WE DO ...
/collective kickbacks/
/youth advisory board/
/RESTORATIVE COMMUNITY PROJECT/
/diversion program/
WE ARE ALL WE GOT.
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WE ARE ALL WE GOT. ...
COLLECTIVE KICKBACks
The wonder of restorative justice is that it can both reactively redress harms and proactively build community. Thus, at a moment in western civilization where the very terms our sociality is defined by the erosion of said community, we create critical healing spaces to divest from pain, experiment with joy, and dream of futures fashioned by us so that we might knit a tighter restorative neighborhood. Collective Kickbacks are intergenerational community events that offer spaces for fellowship, learning, and mutual aid. These events are often facilitated by Youth Advisory Board members or our neighbors. Past events have included the transfer of craft techniques such as Palestinian Tatreez, collage, and crochet, political education sessions on Abolition and Police Free Schools, affinity circles such as Guys Group, as well as Hair Braiding Parties, Open Mic Nights, and Thrift Exchanges.
Check out our events calendar or our social media platforms to stay informed about upcoming kickbacks.
Events Calendar
If you would like to collaborate on a kickback/event use the form at the bottom of the page.
YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD
Distrust in young people is canonized. As a society, we flinch in anticipation of a Lord of the Flies-esque anarchy when young people are left to their own devices. But since our origin, we have marveled at the miracle of the young mind. Ripe with alacrity, young people possess a critical insight due to their social position as one of the most disempowered classes under late capitalism. As such, we built the Youth Advisory Board, comprised of both Restorative Community Project and Diversion Program alumni, to pay youth to determine the direction of our climb. In this space, youth are responsible for program planning, facilitation, and evaluation.
restorative community project
restorative community project
The Restorative Community Project, often abbreviated as RCP, is a paid fellowship for BIPOC girls/femmes and non-binary youth to develop their restorative and transformative justice impulses to protect and nurture our community. In doing this work, we are reinvesting in our community's ability to keep each other safe, whole, and free. This work is done in 3 parts:
Opening Ceremony: To kick off our work, we invite participants on a retreat where we take the first step towards becoming a restorative community. During this time together, we will be witness to one another's stories, and begin to pen the one we are writing together as we learn a shared vocabulary around Black feminist epistemologies. We aim to make it plain that this not just a political project aimed towards the liberation of black women (although we believe this too)– but as Hortense Spillers has argued, Black feminism is also a whole host of interventions, theories, dance moves, critiques, Dinah Washington songs, recipes, icons, policy solutions, and critical imaginaries invested in producing a more sustainable and livable planet for us all. With this framing, we move into phase two.
Restorative Training: We live in the aftermath of communities ravaged by carceral systems and never-ending conflicts. We are taught that wrongdoing leads to punishment, and if severe enough, disposability. In this phase, we equip participants with the foundational concepts of restorative justice to disrupt this ideology and set the stage for the world we could build instead.
Closing Ceremony: Finally, we reach the point of praxis. Each cohort is tasked with developing a closing project or offering uniquely out of its own shared imaginary. It is here that we bring neighbors and peers in to engage with the offerings of the group.
DIVERSION PROGRAM
Youth Restorative Justice Diversion Program: Through an MOU with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, we transform “cases” for youth (ages 10-17.5) who have committed felony-level harm into holistic experiences textured by empowerment frameworks, resource mobilization, and restorative circles with the survivors of harm. At no point post-referral do responsible youth or survivors engage with DAs, police, or courtrooms. Instead, we do this work at our cozy space, neighborhood parks, and maybe even while hiking the Wissahickon Trail. We divide this work into 6 phases:
Opening Ceremony
Building Community
Psychosocial Tools
Political Education and Restorative Justice Training
Tending to the Harm/Accountability
Closing Ceremony
Once the process is complete, the youth will have their case closed and their records expunged should they not be arrested in the six months that follow. Since launching this initiative in 2021, we have maintained a recidivism rate of less than 3%, proving that directly investing in restorative justice is cheaper, more robust, and more effective at reducing recidivism.
Emerging Adult Unit Diversion: Similarly, through a referral process with the Emerging Adult Unit of the District Attorney’s Office, we cultivate a restorative diversionary experience for adults between 18-26. Consistent with brain development science, we seek to explore harm and accountability in ways that mirror our Youth Restorative Justice Diversion Program, but with additional attention to life skills.
Juvenile Assessment Center Diversion Program: Through referrals from the Juvenile Assessment Center, we guide youth arrested for lower-level offenses through a day-long restorative justice introduction that combines reflection, somatic practices, community connection, and conflict resolution tools to keep these incidents off their records.We believe this space can harness the emerging power of courageous and curious youth by introducing them to paths where their
Contact us
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