Two Programs, Many Practices, Four Enduring Values

What one story and structure could possibly nurture every part of our growing and gathering organization? We are one Coalition of two programs and many practices, anchored by four enduring values. 

Programs, because from its beginnings in 2017, Restorative Justice Durham never intended to be anything else. One collaborative leadership, 70 volunteer co-facilitators, accepting referrals from our County diversion program and Durham courthouse. A program that guides neighbors harmed and neighbors responsible for harm through an intentional restorative process that asks: “What happened?” and “What were you thinking/feeling?” and "Who’s been affected?" and “What can we do to make things as right as possible?”

Looking at what we’ve long called the Reentry & Reconciliation Ministry, and you see just such a program. Dozens of volunteers, gathered in teams around returning neighbors, referred from civic partners, for the promise of mutual support and friendship in the first 1–2 years after incarceration. Because any good program needs a (better) name, we've given it one: Returning Friends Durham.

Two programs, many practices. And by practices, we mean the oldest and dearest ways we gather. 30 years of Community Luncheon Roundtables. Community Circles multiple times each month since 2017. Hundreds of Community Vigils. A survivor-centered Grief Circle. 33 Annual Vigils Against Violence. Court Accompaniment. Community-building and violence-response spaces of every kind. One at a time, again and again. Many practices.

What center could you propose for such a sprawling life together? Four enduring values. Discerned and defined during 2025, but lived out for decades. Each one an equally good story for the unique life flowing through every leaf and branch of RCND. 

• We reach into and strengthen community through the simple wisdom of “being with,” empowering neighbors into what only we can be-and-do for one another.
• We are broken open by suffering and compelled by our neighbors’ stories, responding with compassion in humble resistance to all that would keep us apart.
• We practice courage that forms and transforms lives together, fostering accountability for harm, imagination for healing, and dignity for all.
• We move at the speed and attend to the work of trust, measuring our Coalition by the integrity of each space we create.

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