Saying Goodbye
Saying goodbye is hard. Even when you wish someone well, want what is best for them, are thrilled for them and their newest opportunity, there is still a tiny piece of you that wishes that they wouldn’t go.
Not because you want to hold them back.
Never that.
You just know that you’ll miss them. Miss their wisdom, their sense of humour, their work ethic, their patience.
And so it’s with joy, excitement, and a little bit of sadness, that we say goodbye to our Restorative Justice Coordinator, Justin Hohne.
Justin Hohne has been with us at the Abbotsford Restorative Justice and Advocacy Association (ARJAA) since he was 19 years old. A student of Criminology at the University of the Fraser Valley, he was looking for volunteer opportunities within his community when he first learned about ARJAA and restorative justice. “ARJAA did a guest presentation in one of the classes that I was doing. I had never heard of restorative justice before and its approach to crime and wrong doing really resonated with me. This sounded like an organization that I wanted to be a part of. There were two volunteer positions available in the organization - one as a facilitator and one as a mentor. I just knew that I wanted to be a part of this organization, so I signed up for both!”
An organization that has been a part of the fabric of the Abbotsford community for over twenty years, ARJAA is a non-profit organization that engages community conflict outside of the traditional court system. Vitally concerned with finding innovative ways to impart restorative values and practices to the community, it views crime as harm done to people and relationships, rather than the breaking of laws.
“Once I understood more about restorative justice and ARJAA’s approach to it, I knew that I wanted to be connected to this kind of work. I applied to be a volunteer in 2011 and started my training in 2012. I completed my Victim Offender Conferencing Training and was then set up to be both a mentor and a facilitator. The more work that I did, the more that I wanted to do.”
After a year and a half of volunteering, a position as the Restorative Mentoring Coordinator became available. Justin applied, and shortly after began his first official role with ARJAA. As the Restorative Mentoring Coordinator, Justin was responsible for matching at-risk youth from ARJAA’s other programs with responsible adult mentors. His passion for the work was rooted in the people he got to know. “I got a chance to meet a person and understand what happened. They’re empowered to take accountability, to change their trajectory.”
As he gained more experience, Justin transitioned into the role of Restorative Justice Coordinator where he became responsible for the coordination and facilitation of cases referred to ARJAA. These facilitations create opportunities for youth and adults who have come into conflict with the law to take accountability for their actions, hear how they have impacted others, and work to repair harm and damaged relationships. This work is based on a co-facilitator model of an ARJAA staff facilitator and a trained volunteer, with referrals from the Abbotsford Police Department, Mission RCMP and other agencies and local businesses.
Justin explains that his draw towards restorative justice was that it allows us to humanize the experience of wrongdoing versus simply apply a consequence. When a crime occurs and is dealt with through a restorative justice process, it allows the person who was harmed to have a say in how that harm is repaired, while also allowing the person who committed the harm an opportunity to make things right. “At ARJAA our vision is to transform the city of Abbotsford through restorative justice. When we focus on promoting individual and collective responsibility-taking and accountability, when we take into account histories, the causes of harm and its impacts on those affected, we are building equitable and healthy relationships amongst people and social systems. We can create lasting change.”
As a non-profit, ARJAA relies heavily on its volunteers to make the impact that it does in the community, and Justin’s passion and commitment have been passed on to the volunteers he has trained and worked with. Anyone who applies to be either a facilitator or a mentor completes an extensive background check through the Abbotsford Police Department and is required to complete a series of trainings to equip them in facilitating a dialogue process.
But it’s not just the training that is important.
It’s the heart.
It’s the willingness to be patient.
The willingness to be in the middle of others’ anger and bear it.
The willingness to listen.
“Often when we’re working with people, we’re meeting them at a very vulnerable place in their life and so many times we’re working with people in high emotion. Understandably so. Showing a genuine understanding…being a good listener…having patience, means we can learn so much more about people. We can give people a space to let their guard down. That’s where the real learning can happen.”
It takes someone special who is willing to stand in the gap for others until they can bridge it themselves. Someone who genuinely seeks to understand before being understood.
Justin is that kind of person.
And so, in the wise words of famed philosopher Winnie the Pooh: how lucky we are to have someone that makes saying goodbye so hard.
Justin, we wish you the best of luck in your new role as the Restorative Justice Coordinator for the Burnaby RCMP. We know that you will continue to add immeasurable value, not only to the field of restorative justice, but to those in need of it.
Written by Darcy Halber, ARJAA Communications Specialist