Community Volunteers

Looking for meaningful volunteer work?   Interest in Restorative Justice?

The Washington County Diversion Program is seeking volunteers to serve on its Community Restorative Panel. Panel members represent the face and voice of the community and help participants understand how their actions have affected others.

Restorative Justice is an approach to problem solving based around three basic concepts:

1. When crime occurs, the focus is on the harms that have been done to people and relationships as a result of that crime;
2. When harm has been done, it creates obligations and liabilities;
3. The way forward involves engagement between wrongdoers, victims and the community in an effort to heal the harm and put things right as much as possible.

Volunteers are essential to our success! We provide training to prepare volunteers to follow a restorative justice approach and take on a meaningful role in this community-based justice program. Volunteer typically serve twice a month for two to three hours at a time.

The Diversion system has been in place in Vermont since 1980, with offices in every county. Close to 400 Vermonters volunteer on Diversion boards across the state!

If you are interested in finding out more, please contact Meg Rizzo at (802) 479-1900 or meg@wcdp-vt.org.