October News & Updates- Restorative Justice Program

Restorative Justice Program News & Updates

October 18, 2021 | Issue 13

Barbara Nelson, CSS Restorative Justice Program Director

I love a good story. I absolutely love having my senses fully engaged as an author, actor, director, or some other storytelling artisan deliberately and skillfully weaves a world intentionally designed to transform its audience. That’s what good stories do. They change you. In some meaningful way, good stories—really good stories—make an imprint on your soul that leaves you different than you were before the story began. What’s interesting is that stories—the really good ones, that is—all follow a basic structure. Of course, that structure is shaped and honed by the storyteller’s talent, but the structure itself remains intact. There’s a hero who sets out on a journey, faces challenges, and returns home changed. That’s it. Now, of course, there is a lot that happens between “sets out on a journey” and “returns home changed,” but that is the basic structure of a good story. Let’s test it out. Read More

Community Ambassador Highlight

Meet Ashlee Fritz. Ashlee is a advertising and marketing professional who has a passion for helping youth. After graduating with her Bachelors in Fine and Studio Arts, Ashlee started to freelance her art. Fast forward four years later and Ashlee turned her side hustle, into a full blown business.

October is National Youth Justice Action Month

On September 30, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden proclaimed October as National Youth Justice Action Month. The observance brings focus to juvenile justice reform and advancing equity and racial justice.

Read his entire proclamation here

Teen Entrepreneur Workshop

These past six weeks in the Teen Entrepreneur Workshop have flown by! Each week these youth continue to collaborate with each other while learning about budgeting, business strategies, and branding. Within two weeks, each individual will present a business pitch to present to panel of judges.

On October 5th, Selena Worrell with Worrell Contracting came out to speak to our Teentrepreneurs! We appreciate everything Selena and Worrell Contracting does to support Communities Supporting Schools.

On September 28th, Ashlee Fritz spoke to our Teentrepreneurs about her experience with helping her daughter start a business, and the lessons they learned along the way. Ashlee has such a passion for working with youth and we are so thankful to have met her.

On October 12th, Jae Johnson and Danyella Lewis spoke to our Teentrepreneurs. Jae is a mentor with The Core Foundation and Danyella is the owner of Queen of Braids. Many thanks to both for coming out and speaking to our youth!

Restorative Justice Volunteer Training

On October 14th we held our annual Restorative Justice Program volunteer training. During this two hour session, we went over our three programs, the different volunteer roles, and what restorative justice is.

If you missed this training or would like to become a volunteer, please email Aleisha Santos at teencourt2@waynecss.org

Volunteer Applications can be found here