What began in 1974 under the umbrella of Mennonite Central Committee and was
incorporated as a small charity in 1982, has now developed into an agency with 15+
staff and more than 15 volunteers, all applying restorative justice to different community needs and issues.
Expanding on the first successful meeting between youth who committed crimes and their victims, CJI’s founder and first Executive Director, Mark Yantzi developed the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP). VORP grew and gained credibility in the
Community.
In the late 1970s, we began Community Mediation Services to provide conflict resolution options for individuals, neighbours, families, and groups. These programs ranged from sports mediation for local teams, to mediations for faith communities and workplaces. We receive referrals from community agencies, families and neighbours, police and city bylaw departments.
Revive began in 1982, when CJI gave people who had been sexually abused a place to meet so they could talk about their experiences. Soon after CJI started a program to provide group support for these survivors of sexual trauma.
Stride began as Project Another Chance (PAC) in 1995 founded by a former inmate. PAC was a telephone support and advocacy service for federally sentenced women in and on parole from the infamous Prison for Women (P4W) in Kingston. In 1998, with the impending closure of P4W and opening of the new federal prison for women in Kitchener, Ontario (Grand Valley Institution for Women-GVI) Stride became a program of CJI.
Stride evolved to offer community circles of support for women leaving GVI. CJI developed and implemented a nationally recognized Circles Program which matched trained volunteers with women wanting support as they re-enter the community. To facilitate positive relationships between community members and women in prison, CJI started a social recreation program called Stride Night. Crafts, sports, games etc. provided the backdrop for interaction as community volunteers and agencies visited the women in prison to help them prepare for successful reintegration.
Observing that elder abuse was an issue in the Waterloo Region, in 2000 CJI became a founding partner in the Restorative Justice Approaches to Elder Abuse and Mistreatment project. Other partners included the Community Care Access Centre and the Waterloo Regional Police Services. In 2005, this approach was developed into specialized conflict resolution services for adults who are 55+.
Knowing there is a better way to deal with disputes and violence, CJI partnered with local school boards to creatively apply a range of restorative processes to navigate conflict, build the conflict skills of youth, and strengthen school communities.
In 2007, CJI develops Facilitated Dialogue to provide an opportunity for
individuals and families to come together in a supported way to be heard, develop
understanding and find a way forward through the impacts of sexual trauma.
Family Centred Programs began in 2007 as a collaborative effort between Community Justice Initiatives, Ministry of Children and Youth Services, and Family and Children’s
Services of Waterloo Region. Using restorative justice principles, CJI’s Family-
Centred Programs empowered families to make decisions about their children in child protection through culturally sensitive, respectful. meetings.
In 2009, CJI began Fresh Start Creations—an innovative program through which women in prison created artisan pieces that were sold in the community. 100% of the proceeds raised were donated to Waterloo Region charities chosen by the women. Fresh Start Creations enabled women to think differently about their role and value to society while challenging the community to think differently about women in prison.
Recognizing that parents identified by child protection services needed better skills to handle conflict, in 2012 we began offering one on one parent conflict coaching. In 2019 we added a caregiver teen program that assists parents and teens in situations of conflict.
Modelled after CJI’s successful Stride program, Backhome was started in 2012 in partnership with Ray of Hope. Later, CJI also collaborated with Lutherwood. Volunteers participated in recreational activities each week with youth at Waterloo Region custody facilities. Upon their release, teens could choose to be supported by a Circle of volunteers as they reintegrate. This program is no longer running due to a lack of funding.
CJI partnered with Salvation Army s New Direction half-way house in Kitchener and the Stonehenge therapeutic community in Guelph to provide reintegration support for men. Modelled after the Stride program for women, StrideMen provided practical and emotional support to help men leaving prison or treatment to build more constructive lives in the community. This program is no longer operating due to lack of funding.
In 2019, CJI began a partnerships with the Coalition of Muslim Women to offer restorative approaches in situations of identity-based harm stemming from Islamophobia, racism and xenophobia. Currently, our identity-based harm services have grown alongside our communities’ evolving needs, to address a wider spectrum of identity and harm. Our services also work to engage upstream prevention of hate motivated and identity-based harm.
An acute housing crisis in Waterloo Region meant that older adults on low-incomes had few safe, affordable housing choices. In 2019, CJI began matching those who need housing with home providers for mutual benefit. We also matched people who want to share rental space in a cohousing arrangement. CJI helped cohoused people discuss expectations, develop agreements, and navigate conflict.
In 2024, CJI welcomed Open Homes under our umbrella. Open Homes was a grassroots movement, rooted in the Mennonite community, with a rich history of volunteers housing and welcoming refugee claimants. CJI agreed to further the work of these committed community members.
CJI creatively, and innovatively applies restorative justice principles to challenging community problems.
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