kindness is magic
Photography by Stephen Restelli
We are actively seeking caring, conscientious volunteers to help further our mission to the community.
Circle Of Support and Accountability (COSA) Volunteer for the Offender Reentry Program
People are coming out of prison and returning to the Barre community on a weekly basis. These are not new members to the community. These are people who have significant ties to the area; they are returning to their families and their community… and they need support.
You can make a difference. We need teams of COSA volunteers willing to work with a Core Member of the COSA (offender) as he or she transitions from prison back into our community. The role of the COSA volunteer is to offer mentorship and support to an offender who has expressed a desire to change and a commitment to cause no more harm. The COSA program has a proven track record of reducing recidivism (reoffending), thus making the community safer and keeping people from being re-incarcerated.
COSA volunteers receive substantive training and new volunteers are placed with staff and experienced volunteers on a COSA team. Each team meets once a week with the Core Member, encouraging them to create strong bonds of support, friendship and accountability as they work to become healthy members of society. As a trained team, the group helps establish clear expectations for community behavior and responsibility. The commitment is for one year of service.
“It gives you an opportunity to be a part of the solution and the change you want to see.”
Restorative Justice Panel Volunteer
Serving on a Restorative Justice Panel, community members work as a team with 3-5 other Panel members to conduct a structured problem-solving meeting with persons responsible for and affected by a crime. This meeting is focused on understanding the harm caused, how the offender will make amends, and actions the offender will take to avoid re-offending. Staying away from a punitive mindset, as a Panel member you would represent the community perspective and ensure a restorative justice response to the crime committed. The team, along with active involvement from the offender and affected parties, construct a plan for the offender to make amends.
Restorative Justice Panel members serve the community in two ways. First, they help people affected by crime be heard and have their needs attended to. And second, they support people who have done wrong to understand the impact their actions have on victims, affected parties and the community.
Training is required for this position. There are 1-2 meetings/month, which go for 2-3 hours. A commitment of one year is preferred.
“Being a part of this unique process is always eye opening, and helps participants repair the harm done to victims and the community and allows the person who caused the harm to “clean their side of the street,” by not only making amends, but by gaining new understanding of how their actions affected others. The hope is that what is learned will stay with the participants as they are faced with choices in the future that will affect others.”
National Volunteer Appreciation Week: April 21-27:
The Barre Community Justice Center is proud to recognize the invaluable contributions of its dedicated volunteers who are a central and vital part of community safety and restorative justice programs at the BCJC:
Board of Directors: Guides and supports BCJC policy directions and financial well-being.
Reparative Panels: Responds to crime by bringing together lower-level criminal offenders, the victim, and community members in a non-adversarial process to encourage offender accountability and meet the needs of the victims to repair the harms resulting from crime.
Circles of Support and Accountability: Supports safe community re-entry for those returning from incarceration through mentoring, support, and transitional housing.
2023-2024 Volunteers:
Martina Anderson
Omar Calhum-Flowers
Hilary Denton
Amy Donald
Garrett Grant
Mary Hayden
Rachel Hickory
Lisa Luciano
Doreen Phillips
Ann Regan
Cheryl Reed
Diane Sherman
Stephanie Wawrzyniak
Linda Wentworth
Heidi White
Becky Wigg
Peter Young