And Justice for All

When someone under the age of 18 faces criminal charges, they will go to the Youth and Family Court. If convicted, the court will sentence that person. This might mean that the court imposes a restriction on a youth who punched his friend on the bus, barring them from taking city transit, and puts them on probation. That sounds like common sense. But that youth may have no way to get around without public transit. That person might not be able to get to school, to a job, to see friends, or to participate in out-of-school activities. That person can become isolated as their world becomes limited. But with restorative justice, the process and outcome may be completely different. Restorative justice focuses on repairing the harms that are created within the community or with the victim.

“It’s a very holistic approach to the charge or crime, and it essentially focuses on the youth repairing those harms however they kind of like see fit, of course, with our guidance and the way that differs from traditional criminal justice,” – Aliana Kanji

The process looks at the entire picture: familial background, relationships, friends, community and culture. YRAP facilitates the conversation, develops plans and assists youth with the process. It brings accountability back to the person who causes harm. “For example, let’s say there was a theft from a store, things we’ve done to repair that action have been baking cookies for people involved, writing apology letters and participating in community … volunteering for the community it happened in,” Kanji says. Volunteers for YRAP must be under the age of 25 to maintain peer-to-peer relationships. They are often university students in sociology, criminology, or interested in law or youth work.

The YRAP team engages with youth in the justice system who are currently aged 12-17, and they have plans to expand the programming for young adults aged 18-24, who the justice system treats as adults. There are plans for a wider volunteer pool, recruited through social media and universities. Outside legal procedure, which is the bread and butter work done by the organization, there’s also outreach and mentorship.

“Sometimes we’re dealing with at-risk kids who might not have community relationships or much family around,” says Kanji. “We run programs to get people out to build community in fun, healthy and educational ways.”

There is another side to YRAP. It could be working together in a mentorship capacity, building a resume or studying for a driver’s test. There are drop-in group activities like bowling, mini golf, attending Edmonton Elks games or going to K-Days. If a person has issues with accessibility and transportation, YRAP has DIY activities.

Thanks to funding from Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF), everything YRAP does is free of charge and inclusive. Turnover is a challenge, and YRAP provides education and training to all volunteers and staff to ensure a level of care and awareness in the work being done with their peers. “We really appreciate our grantors like the Edmonton Community Foundation, for making it possible for us to continue doing the work that we’re doing and expanding into more programming and more community members in Edmonton and the surrounding areas as well,” says Kanji. YRAP has received $75,000 from ECF which has enabled them to hire six new staff this year. That includes a file coordinator, a drop in coordinator, and support in finance, development, volunteer coordination and programming.

This will increase the number of files they can take on and expand the volunteer pool. Currently, there are nine staff and 56 volunteers. YRAP projects the caseload for this year to be around 70 legal files. The organization plans to increase over the next year, potentially doubling the number of legal and probation files.

YRAP has a goal to put staff, a “court squad”, right into courts to support youth who attend alone. That staff will share restorative justice alternatives available to individuals who may not be aware of YRAP. Over the next few years, the group hopes to support more youth and encourage them to use alternatives to the traditional judicial system, to move forward in a healthy, community-oriented way.