A restorative justice program will work with grade seven students in Kitimat to talk about things that may be new to them or tough to talk about.

Leisl Kaberry, program director for Victim Services for the Kitimat RCMP, proposed the idea to the Mount Elizabeth Secondary School principal after doing a trial run at St. Anthony’s Catholic School. 

The restorative justice program is a legal practice that brings victims and offenders together to reconcile with the help of a facilitator. 

Instead of working with victims and offenders, the program will gather grade seven students in circles of twenty to have discussions relevant to them. 

Kaberry explained that they’ll cover essential topics like bullying and social media, but in a way that gets the kids to talk to each other about how certain things make them feel, giving them a new perspective. 

Students will also have the chance to talk about things that may be a new conversation for them, like sexual assault, consent and substance use, though Kaberry explained that they will work with teachers on talking about any topics that are relevant to the students. 

During the sessions at St. Anthony’s, the kids felt more comfortable with their classmates after realizing that they had shared experiences and weren’t alone in how they were feeling, according to Kaberry. 

The hope is that by having open discussion circles, it will help kids understand things on a deeper level so that they can continue to learn from each other. 

Currently, the program is set to begin for Grade 7 students in Mount Elizabeth, but Kaberry hopes to get more people trained for the program so that they can expand their reach to other schools and grades.

You can listen to the full radio story below: