Western Justice Center

Instead of inundating your inbox on , we decided to celebrate YOU on Allyship Appreciation Wednesday!

We’re where we are today because of some pretty incredible folks who have been with us through thick and thin, including our:

-Generous donor allies
-Sponsors & Partners
-Board of Directors
-Program Advisory Council
-Leadership Council
-Mediation Mentors
-Volunteers

We are deeply grateful to all who share and act on our values of empathy, empowerment, equity, inclusion and impact.

Thank you for helping us strengthen communities by growing the conflict resolution skills and capacity of youth, educators, schools, and community partners!

The holidays can be a time of joy for many.

Yet for some, it can feel heavy with the anticipation of conflict with family and friends.

We know it can be stressful, so we’ve put together seven restorative practices to help you navigate conflict during the holidays. 👇

1. Listen to understand, not to respond: When someone feels seen and heard, they're more receptive to hearing alternate points of view.

2. Set boundaries ahead of time: Low on expectations and high on acceptance.

3. Family is whoever you want it to be: Gathering with chosen family instead of the family you’re born into can be deeply meaningful.

4. Lean into discomfort: We can grow personally and in our relationships by trying something different at a pace that feels right for us.

5. Understand the difference between intention and impact: While your intentions are important, the impact of your actions or words often matters most. If you impact someone negatively, take a moment to listen empathetically, rather than defend. See #1.

6. Use “I” statements: Speak for yourself, not for others.

7. Practice self-care: Step away when you need to and support your own mental health & wellness.

❇️ SHARE, LIKE AND SAVE! ❇️

Last night's United Against Hate event in Pasadena was a success! Thank you to everyone who attended and to our trainers, Linda Bustamante of 211 LA and Lindi Woo from Right to Be, for teaching us exactly what to do when we witness an incident of hate in a public space.

Be sure to check out the article on our event in Pasadena Now for more details: https://lnkd.in/gnfsXpsC

Rehana works with students and staff at Dream Centers to create safe, inclusive, welcoming sites for vulnerable and targeted student communities by teaching mediation and other skills.

It’s all part of empowering young people to independently sustain a culture of peacebuilding on their campuses.

At a recent training in Inglewood, Rehana and the team welcomed a shy young man who bravely shared his struggle with antiquated ideas about masculinity that he felt were holding him back.

Encouraged by the unique space his fellow students had created, he was surprised - and grateful - for their support and has kept coming back.

"What a gift it is to witness these kinds of transformations," Rehana says. "It really is allyship in action!”

from one of our earliest Peer Mediation Invitationals with elementary and middle school students. Find out what it takes to become a Mediation Mentor for the 2024 Peer Mediation Invitational:
https://mcusercontent.com/b42f65a9417e6683f46639acf/images/e2bf35e1-67c3-d88f-e207-7ef127159a48.png

WJC is looking for volunteers to provide coaching and constructive feedback to students as they apply their new conflict resolution skills in mock mediation practice sessions during our ✨ Mediation Boot Camp ✨ training program.

This fall, our first Boot Camp is on Saturday, September 23 in the Crenshaw/Inglewood area. Mentors can join for a half or full day of coaching.

Contact us to find out more about becoming a Mediation Mentor!

Get Empowered ✨ Let's celebrate the youth and educators who are using mediation and restorative practices to build a culture of peace, justice, inclusion and equity in their schools.

Join us at the Jonathan Club in Downtown Los Angeles for an evening you won't forget. Tickets available at: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/westernjusticecenter/event/2023wjcempowerawards/

We are honored to announce Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell as the 2023 Champion of Justice. Her accomplishments show her commitment to equity in action and help further our shared responsibility to restorative justice principles that lift people up, meet people’s needs, and unlock the potential of everyone in our community.

WJC will present our inaugural Dorothy Wright Nelson Peacemakers Award to three inspiring young women who responded to tragedy by organizing their fellow students into a force for peace, justice and equity.

Meet the founders of Azusa Unified School District's Student Union: Natalie De La Cruz, Althea Ito, and Andrea Mendez.

A special thank you to our sponsors who help make this work possible. We're excited to share 13 new sponsors from this week alone!

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Careers
Manatt
Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro LLP
Groom Law Group
PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services LLC
Alston & Bird
Berkeley Research Group
Douthit Productions
Mayer Brown
SOMOS Group
Bird Marella
Kepner Mediation
ServiceNow

The support from our 2023 Empower Sponsors will make it possible for WJC to reach more than 40 schools and affect learning environments for more than 25,000 youth this year. We thank you all for your continued support & advocacy! 💚

Interested in sponsoring or attending the Empower Gala? Find more information at: https://www.westernjustice.org/empower

Looking for a fun, FREE way to kick off the school year?

Join us Saturday, August 12 in Downtown Los Angeles for a special back-to-school celebration with Grand Performances, featuring DJ Battlecat.

If you've worked with WJC through the years or supported our work, we want to celebrate with you! That means students, graduates, educators, parents, administrators, community partners, volunteers, you name it.

Get your FREE tickets today. Then bring a picnic or grab a bite at nearby Grand Central Market and join us for specially reserved WJC seating.

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/battlecat-thes-one-tickets-628814058777?aff=oddtdtcreator

We are honored to announce Blue Shield of California will receive our Advocate of Justice Award at this year’s Empower Gala.

Blue Shield of California is being honored for its commitment to advancing health equity and opportunity, particularly for structurally disadvantaged communities and its insight into the role that social determinants of health play in the lives of young people. This has been put into action with their program, BlueSky, which works with the California Department of Education (CDE) and nonprofits to improve the health and well-being for all California youth, with a focus on health inequities in communities of color.

Our final week of ABC's of Conflict 2023 training is coming to end; but we are just getting started! A whopping 35 schools from all regions of Los Angeles County trained with WJC this month. These Changemakers will be implementing the skills they learned in training into real life -- on their school campuses!

We kicked off an amazing first week at our ABC's of Conflict Training! Thank you to all the new Changemakers we will be working with for this coming school year. 💚

Congratulations to all of our 2023 Graduates! 🎓
You have become leaders by serving as peer mediators and restorative circle keepers. We know the future holds great things in store for you. Your courage, resilience and open-mindedness give us hope for the future.

Want to stay involved with WJC? Become a college intern, join us at an L.A. vs Hate Summer of Solidarity event, or adult it by following us on LinkedIn.

"What would it look like to adopt facilitated dialogue, transformational mediation, and other forms of conflict resolution and bridge building as a core operating principle of the way Los Angeles does its business?"

Read more about Los Angeles Bridge Builders Collective (LABBC) and their mission to strengthen our democracy in the National Civic League's National Civic Review spring issue. WJC is proud to be an LABBC founding member!

Bridge Building as a Basic Operating Principle - National Civic League The capacity to build bridges is central to building and maintaining a truly inclusive, dynamic, and civil society. The Listen First Project is party of an effort to use collective impact as a strategy to energize organizations across the country.

ABC's of Conflict gives changemakers like you the tools you need to transform your school community. We'll start a year of training, support and coaching with our sessions in June where we build relationships the changemakers we'll be working with on site during the 2023-24 school year.

In our 4 Day Training Program you will learn how to:
❇️ Create and sustain a student-led peer mediation program
❇️ Address bias, bullying, and inter-group conflict on your campus
❇️ Use restorative practices to engage & empower students + educators

Registration for 2023 ABC’s of Conflict training program is available on our website: https://www.westernjustice.org/abcs-of-conflict
Week 1: June 20-23 SOLD OUT!
Week 2: June 26-29 GOING FAST!

Last week, WJC received the Warren Knight Distinguished Service Award from JAMS. Executive Director Elissa Barrett accepted the award with WJC Board Member Gina Miller and WJC Program Advisory Council member Shaphan at the American Bar Association's 2023 Dispute Resolution Spring Conference from JAMS Foundation Executive Director David Brandon.

WJC was honored to share the stage with fellow honorees, Colin Rule (CEO of Mediate.com) and Chair Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Vice Chair Tom Graves (R-GA) from the House Select Committee on Congressional Modernization.

We are excited to be a part of this event!

Day 2 of California Mediation Awareness Week: Conversations with Community Mediation Programs- Part 1

Visit our California Mediation Awareness Week 2023 page to view SCMA's interviews with Kabrina Bass MAR, MSCM, LLD of National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM) and Shaune Gatlin and Arturo Magana, MPA of Western Justice Center.

https://scmediation.org/page/2023MediationWeek

Envision Consulting is seeking a DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR for Western Justice Center (WJC) in Los Angeles, CA.

WESTERN JUSTICE CENTER (WJC) was founded in 1987 by a group of judges, lawyers, and civic leaders led by the Honorable Dorothy W. Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, who collectively sought to expand the use of alternative dispute resolution techniques in and beyond the court system. Their aspiration was for WJC to serve as a thought leader, convener, and capacity builder in the fields of conflict resolution education and restorative justice.

POSITION OVERVIEW:
Demand for WJC’s services is stronger than it has ever been. That is why we are looking for an entrepreneurial leader to sustain and advance our fundraising potential. The Development Director will play a vital role in developing our core fundraising programs and will increase support from individuals, companies, private foundations and government sources. The Development Director will report directly to the Executive Director and will support her in achieving the organization’s fundraising goals.

To apply, visit: http://ow.ly/C9ZS50LmeAP

Check out WJC's recent newsletter to find more info about our annual Empower event!

To read, visit:
https://mailchi.mp/westernjustice/june2022newsletter-13670229

Our 2022 Empower is just around the corner and you're invited! Join us at the Jonathan Club on September 22.

Follow this link to RSVP now: westernjustice.org/empower