Mission Statement

Valley Restorative Justice Society (VRJS) is a non-profit organization providing the Nova Scotia Restorative Justice Program (NSRJP) to Annapolis, Kings and West Hants counties. The NSRJP is a principle-based program that recognizes that crime causes harm to individuals and communities and seeks to address the impact of these harms in a meaningful way. The process takes into consideration the contexts, causes and circumstances of a crime, in order to address the harm caused, identify needs and move forward.

VRJS has been providing the NSRJP to youth between the ages of 12 and 17 since November 1, 1999 when four pilot sites were created. In November 2003, the program opened Province-wide to youth. On November 30, 2016, the NSRJP expanded to include adult referrals. With the expansion of the NSRJP to adults, a partnership between the local restorative justice agencies and Community Corrections was created.

The RJ process brings together those who have been harmed (victims), the person(s) who caused harm, community members who can help everyone understand the issues involved and those who can support a forward-focused outcome. The process takes into consideration the contexts, causes and circumstances of a crime, in order to address the harm caused, identify needs and move forward.

Formerly a program dealing with youth crime, the Nova Scotia Restorative Justice Program began taking adult referrals in November 2016. The decision to refer a matter to the Nova Scotia Restorative Justice Program rests with justice system personnel – Police, Crown Prosecutors, Judges/Courts, Corrections Staff and Victim-Serving Agencies. Cases can be referred before a criminal charge is laid, before a conviction or after a conviction. Key criteria for referral to the program are that the person who is responsible for causing harm accepts responsibility and is willing to go through the restorative justice process and be part of creating a plan for a more meaningful way forward. Plans are created for each individual restorative process and address the specific issues, harms and needs of everyone affected by the offence. Plans include meaningful consequences or actions to repair the harm done to those impacted, as well as plans aimed at making measurable life changes to support the individual responsible to carry out these obligations.