Restorative Justice: Support & Accountability Volunteer

Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) is a community-based response for individuals who have been incarcerated for committing sexual offences, are being released into the community, and voluntarily seek out assistance in living a successful and crime-free life. Those individuals are referred to as ‘core members.’

Specifically, the CoSA Mission is to substantially reduce the risk of future sexual victimization by assisting and supporting released individuals in their task of integrating with the community and leading a responsible, productive, and accountable life.

CoSA operates from a restorative justice perspective. Restorative justice (RJ) recognizes the serious harm arising from sexual violence. As a restorative justice measure focused specifically on supporting and holding to account those who have committed sexual offences, CoSA aims to:

- Build safer and healthier communities;
- Enable responsibility-taking for harmful actions and choices;
- Generate an environment of empathy to better understand the experiences
and needs of victims of sexual harm1; and
- Support core members to learn and change.

A circle is an intentional community made up of trained staff and community members, established for the benefit of the core member and the community at large. The circle facilitates constructive exchange and direct connection with the core member through weekly in-person meetings and other activities. The circle assists the core member to recognize the impacts of past offences and harmful behaviours, and to take steps to live a fulfilling, pro-social, and safe lifestyle. The circle models positive, healthy relating and constructive decision making, supports the core member to decrease social isolation, and challenges behaviours and/or attitudes that may prevent the core member from moving forward. The circle’s work includes supporting a deeper understanding of the impacts of sexual victimization. The circle assists the core member to understand and manage their personal risk factors, to recognize their strengths, and to develop new skills and self-understanding in a safe and inclusive environment - ensuring a balance of engagement between support and accountability. This balance is significant and ultimately contributes to the safety and well-being of the community. 

The qualities, skills, and attitudes sought in a CoSA community member are: 

- Committed to learning about, and working within, a restorative justice context
- Ability to maintain clear boundaries
- Capacity to problem-solve, learn from, and make decisions as part of a team
- Empathic and non-judgmental 
- Good interpersonal and communication skills and an ability to be constructive
- Ability to be proactive but also seek support when needed
- Willingness to learn practical approaches for facilitating discussions
- Ability to accept guidance, supervision and support from and communicate with staff, providing regular feedback when appropriate 
- Willingness to participate in on-going skills development
- Availability and reliability to fulfill tasks as a circle member

If you are interested, please contact Aysha Aziz- reintegration@themicahmission.org.