The Second Chance and Violence Prevention subcommittee hosted a Restorative Justice training circle in partnership with Life Anew and Huston-Tillotson University. AISD staff, APD officers, students, and community members participated in this two-day training to increase awareness and understanding around the use of restorative justice circles. Participants also engaged in discussions and activities aimed at improving their interpersonal skills when in conflictual encounters. The hope is to expand the use of these practices across schools and juvenile justice settings to provide youth with preventative programming and second-chance opportunities.
We are excited to announce that the Greater Austin Area My Brother’s Keeper (GAAMBK) will be hosting a Restorative CommunityRetreat. We will be offering tools to help Educators working with students Pre- K – 12th, Child Protective Services employees, Foster Care Providers, Law Enforcement Agencies, Faith Based Organizations, School Resource Officers, Attorneys and those that work in the Juvenile or Adult Judicial System, to utilize Restorative Practices.
The breakout sessions will be taught by educators, restorative justice practitioners & an attorney that employs restorative justice practices in his firm.
For more information on what Restorative Practices are and who should attend the Restorative Community Retreat, please see the attached document.
Follow this link to register http://www.elifeanew.com/training. Seats are limited so register as soon as possible. Should you have any question please contact Kim Patton atkim@elifeanew.com or (512) 297-3183.
Use hashtag #AustinMBK to see the online conversation about the DDCE’s SXSWedu panel on how the city of Austin and UT are taking steps toward fulfilling the goals of President Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative.
A city-wide conversation about President Obama’s initiative, My Brother’s Keeper
One year ago, President Obama launched My Brother’s Keeper and challenged every city and county to address the significant challenges that young men of color face. Shortly following the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s national initiative, we gathered Austin educators, city government officials, philanthropists, community and non-profit leaders into one room for a dynamic discussion on the lives of our city’s boys and young men of color. This community dialogue, “Austin Aligns for Boys and Young Men of Color: A City-wide Conversation about President Obama’s Initiative, My Brother’s Keeper”, was co-sponsored by Austin Community College, Austin Independent School District, Huston-Tillotson University, KLRU-TV, the Mayor of the City of Austin, and The University of Texas at Austin. At the event, we discussed how Austin is working to address these challenges; to discover what gaps still exist locally; and to explore how our city, community, organizations, and schools can align and leverage resources to serve this population. This was a step in the right direction towards community-wide collaboration and alignment for Austin’s young men, and we will continue to move forward.
Roundtable participants had 35-40 minutes to discuss two common questions (15-20 minutes per question). Scribes at each table culled participants’ ideas into summaries, and highlights from these summaries have been posted below. The table participants discussed these questions from the perspective of their organization, but also from their own personal perspective of what they see and perceive happening in Austin.
Question #1: Austin and My Brother’s Keeper (15-20 minutes)
In September 2014, President Obama issued a challenge to cities, towns, counties and tribes across the country to become “MBK Communities.” The MBK Community Challenge encourages communities (cities, rural municipalities, and tribal nations) to implement a coherent cradle-to-college-and-career strategy for improving the life outcomes of all young people to ensure that they can reach their full potential, regardless of who they are, where they come from, or the circumstances into which they are born.
The six goals of the My Brother’s Keeper challenge are:
To ensure all children enter school cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally ready
To ensure all children read at grade level by 3rd grade
To ensure all youth graduate from high school
To ensure all youth complete post-secondary education or training
To ensure all youth out of school are employed
To ensure all youth remain safe from violent crime
Of these national goals, which of these seem most relevant to Austin? What issues relevant to Austin’s young men of color are missing from this list?
Question #2: Leveraging Austin’s Programs and Resources (15-20 minutes)
What are promising programs and initiatives of your organization (or others) that currently support boys and young men of color in Austin? What other resources can Austin leverage in order to maximize their impact? What gaps still exist for Austin’s boys and young men of color, and how can we address these gaps?
Co-sponsored by Austin Community College, Austin Independent School District, Huston-Tillotson University, KLRU-TV, the Mayor of the City of Austin, and The University of Texas at Austin
