VALUES & BELIEFS
BELIEFS MATTER.
Beliefs shape how we understand ourselves, one another, and the communities we share.
At RFNL, our work is grounded in the belief that all people, beings, and environments are worthy and interconnected. This belief cannot be reduced to a strategy, program, or checklist. It is a foundation for how we understand restorative justice as a way of being.
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When we begin from worth and interconnectedness, we are invited to ask different questions. How are we honouring the people and relationships involved? How are we attending to dignity, respect, mutual concern, and responsibility? How are we creating conditions where people can belong, contribute, repair, and grow?
This framework helps us remember that restorative justice is more than responding after harm has happened. It includes nurturing healthy relationships, creating just and equitable environments, and repairing harm or transforming conflict, all grounded in dignity, respect, mutual concern, worth, and interconnectedness.
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Reflect:
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What changes when we begin from the belief that each person has worth, that relationships matter, and that every person is needed for the strengths they bring?
SHARED VALUES.
When we engage with restorative justice, we engage with shared values.
Values are the qualities, commitments, and ways of being that matter to us. They grow from our beliefs and help shape how we live, relate, and make decisions.
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In order to be truly relational, communities need opportunities to establish a common understanding of what they value. When we truthfully identify our shared values, we create the conditions to be more open and honest in relationship. Shared values also help community expectations become clearer, because people can better understand not only what is expected, but why it matters.
We often begin identifying values by noticing the qualities that have always helped us connect with one another. Think about the people and relationships that help you feel respected, trusted, supported, challenged, encouraged, or understood. The qualities you notice may point toward the values you want to share and practice in community.
Reflect:
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​Think of someone you deeply value or admire. What qualities do you appreciate most about them?
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Think of a co-worker, classmate, friend, or community member you enjoy being around. What helps that relationship feel good, respectful, or trustworthy?
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Think of a teacher, mentor, Elder, coach, or other person who helped you feel seen or supported. What did they do? What values did they practice?
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What do these reflections tell you about the values you want to share, practice, and protect in your community?
EMBODYING BELIEFS & VALUES.
Restorative justice becomes meaningful when
beliefs and values shape how we live in relationship.
In education, community, justice, and organizational settings, this means returning again and again to questions of worth and interconnectedness. Are we honouring people’s dignity? Are we nurturing healthy relationships? Are we creating just and equitable environments? Are we responding to harm in ways that support accountability, repair, and transformation?
Questions we can return to:
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How are we honouring worth and interconnectedness?
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Where might we be measuring or denying worth and interconnectedness?
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Who is benefiting? ​Who is bearing the burden?
This does not mean expectations disappear. It means expectations are held within relationship. Accountability becomes more than compliance. It becomes a shared commitment to understanding impact, meeting needs, repairing harm when needed, and creating conditions where people can learn and grow.
This is why RFNL understands restorative justice as holistic and as a way of being. It is not something we simply apply to others. It asks us to reflect on how we live with ourselves, with one another, with our communities, and with the wider world.