We are formerly the St. Louis Area Restorative Justice Collaboration and Community Conflict Services of Metro St. Louis . In 2019 we joined together to advance a common mission of promoting Restorative Justice principles and practices. We chose the name St. Louis Area Council on Restorative Justice as descriptive of our mission we move forward together.
The St. Louis Area Restorative Justice Collaboration began in March 2004 when a group of people working in or interested in restorative justice met to network, share expertise and to begin developing a broad based coalition of people involved in and committed to restorative justice. Overall, the goal was to move restorative justice from “programs” to a way of thinking and living. Although the group never officially incorporated, it created bylaws in 2006, board positions in 2007 and adopted a consensus method of decision-making. It hosted and co-hosted a number of events within the community to raise awareness of and educate the public about restorative justice. It’s most recent public education work has been on Circle Training.
Community Conflict Services of Metropolitan St. Louis began in 2006 with individuals from a diverse set of governmental and non-governmental organizations who met with the goal of expanding the use of restorative justice practices and community mediation in the St. Louis area because they knew that such services contribute to stronger and safer communities. After incorporating as a nonprofit corporation in 2007, it developed programs to implement restorative practices in a variety of settings from schools to courts. Its Restorative Discipline School Program was initially developed in partnership with the St. Louis City Family Court and was implemented in several St. Louis City Public Schools (2007-2015) as well as Normandy Middle School (2016-2018).