What We Offer
Training
Restorative Camps offers a series of workshops and training for your camp staff, leadership, larger community, or network. Some of these offerings can be held as single sessions, while others work better as an ongoing series.
Introduction to Restorative Justice Workshop: In this introductory, and often experiential session we dive into the what, why, and how of Restorative Justice (RJ). First we review some basic definitions and practice restorative skills. Then we look at specific challenges that come up in our camp communities and explore how restorative justice processes could be utilized to mitigate, prevent, respond to, and repair harm.
Navigating Conflict with Restorative Chats: In this session we focus on "restorative chats", a specific conversation technique that invites connection and deepens relationships inside moments of conflict with both campers and staff. Participants learn the theory behind Restorative Justice and practice the skill of engaging in restorative chats.
Circle Keeper Training: Circle practice is a foundation to building a restorative community. In these sessions we teach, model and practice how to plan and facilitate community building and harm circles. Participants will leave prepared to hold circles with campers and staff.
Restorative Justice Fellowship: The RJ fellowship is designed to help camps on the journey of building a restorative community move this shift forward through the development of a select group of counselors, instructors and supervisors. Camps select a group of staff to attend a series of virtual and/or in-person training that will deepen their understanding of Restorative Justice, develop a restorative mindset and develop a set of skills and tools that will help them navigate conflict and build community with intention.
Coaching
The Restorative Camps team is available to offer coaching for camp leaders and community members working to bring restorative justice practices to their camp community in the following ways.
Restorative Leadership Coaching: We will work with camp leaders (directors and/or leadership teams) to work through vision and strategy around questions of restorative justice. This can look like envisioning how your camp can become more of a restorative community, as well as working through specific situations of conflicts that come up at camp.
Restorative Justice Soil Conditions Assessment: We will work with your leadership team to determine where the camp is along your journey towards being a restorative community. We begin with a Restorative Justice Self Assessment tool that we designed to have multiple team members assess the camp’s current policies and practices in each of the three tiers of RJ work, as well as infrastructure, capacity, and the cultural elements of restorative communities. Once a larger sampling of staff and community members fill out the tool we meet with a smaller team to discuss the tool’s finding and set goals according to where the community is along their journey
Restorative Solutions: We will work with your leadership team on specific challenges that come up in the midst of making the shift towards becoming more of a restorative community to identify restorative possibilities and move forward with intention.
Partner Testimonials
“Partnering with Restorative Camps has truly transformed how we support our community. Brett and Jonah's restorative practice training equipped our staff with practical, real-world tools for navigating conflict and building genuine community — and we see the difference in how our team shows up for campers every single day. Beyond the training itself, Brett and Jonah are warm, responsive, and deeply passionate about helping camps like ours thrive. We are so grateful for this partnership and the lasting impact it's had on our program.”
- Rose Levenson, Camp Director
“Working with Brett and Jonah has had a meaningful impact on our camp, from our staff to our youngest campers. Through participating in a community of practice and having Brett and Jonah train our staff in person, restorative justice has become more than an intellectual concept; it has given us a shared language and tools that are woven into the everyday work of building community, navigating conflict, taking responsibility, and caring for one another. Their partnership has helped us more fully live our values of community, accountability, and collective responsibility.
- Danya Shapiro, Executive Director
“Working with the Restorative Camps team helped us move restorative justice from an inspiring idea to a practical approach camps could apply with their staff and campers to make real culture change possible. Presenting workshops online and at in-person conferences, they were quick to make thoughtful connections with participants who left with thoughtful guidance and concrete tools to strengthen relationships, navigate conflict, and build communities rooted in accountability, care, and belonging.”
-Jill Goldstein Smith, Director, Training & Talent Development