Page 58 - Walking_The_Red_Road

Everything and everyone is interconnected. The physical, emotional, mental and spiritual parts of the individual are interconnected; every individual is interconnected to our children, our spouses, our extended families and our friends.
This interconnection influences the way we view and seek services, as well as our path to those services. Services need to understand and reflect this interconnection.
Just as interconnection was also stressed in the above story about balance, the following is from a conversation regarding restorative justice that took place during a discussion about services in our community among seven Aboriginal women.
One woman said:
Because there was a component missing, the spiritual, it was just a formality. I sat in there, and there was so much missing and so much wrong in the process. Normally, I am not a judgemental, I am just sharing, and I am not stuck and I am not negative. It is just what I lived.
Can I ask a question? Are you talking about the Restorative Justice Circles the Youth Program has here in North Bay? [Yes.] Because I do know of a lot of families that have gone through that process and they say the same thing. We are looking at seeing how we can revive it, because it is important for the well-being of our youth. I have to give some credit to them for trying, but for that program they are not using the Circle the way it was supposed to be used.
Another woman said:
A lot of our First Nations families that access that circle, they just feel terrible when they walk out of there, and that Circle is supposed to make them feel good. Children are supposed to be getting the help that they need, making restitution that they need to make, and everyone leaves there feeling good, not feeling bad. It is supposed to feed their spirit.
Walking the Red Road | REPORT OF THE URBAN ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES THRIVE PROJECT | 58
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