CVCJ Staff

Doug Ford wanted Jesse Morris to remind drivers that they have to share the road and focus solely on driving. “What I wanted was some sort of community impact that would just make the road safer for all of us.” Listen and read more here.

Center for Justice & Peacebuilding alumna leads Charlottesville restorative justice program. “Instead of isolating people in jail or through a sterile criminal legal process, we’re connecting people to empathetic facilitators who treat everyone with dignity and who center the needs of the harmed person and the safety of the community,” Campbell said. Read the full...

Watch here.

Date: Thur. Sep. 26 2024 5:30-7:30pm Location: The Jefferson School, 233 4th St. NW Charlottesville VA 22903 Join us for an evening of reflection, connection, and inspiration as we celebrate the strides made toward justice and explore ways to expand our impact. This event will celebrate and highlight CVCJ’s impactful restorative justice work from the...

Date/Time: 2nd Tuesday of the month (April 9, May 14, June 11 2024), 11:30am-12:30pm Location: Region Ten Blue Ridge Center, 100 Burnet St. Charlottesville VA 22902 Have you been charged with a crime or caused harm to someone and wish there was a way to make amends directly to the person you harmed? Have you...

This event addressed the intersection of two of the most powerful (and problematic) systems in our community: transportation and criminal justice. When someone is harmed by traffic violence, how should the legal system respond? One approach is primarily punitive/carceral, while another approach downplays the severity of the harm caused. A restorative justice model attempts to...

An event at the Tom Tom Festival is helping people with conflict resolution. Let’s Talk focused on group discussion about what to do when you are dealing with a variety of people. Attendees listened and learned from Charlottesville advocates and vice-versa. Click here to see the video.

Date: Wed. April 17, 2024 Location: Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, 160 Peregory Ln, Charlottesville, VA 22902 If you have never been in your local jail, now is the time. This tour, led by Col. Martin Kumer, superintendent of the jail, will offer a glimpse at conditions in the jail. Following the tour, a Central Virginia Community...

Date/Time: Friday, April 19, 2024 10:00am Location: CitySpace on the downtown mall. NOTE: “CitySpace” does not show up on Google Maps; use 100 5th Street NE. CitySpace is located at the corner of the downtown mall and 5th Street NE – go up the brick stairs located by the parking garage elevator and through the...

Date & Time: Tue. April 23, 2024 6:00-7:15pm Location: Online This event will address the intersection of two of the most powerful (and problematic) systems in our community: transportation and criminal justice. When someone is harmed by traffic violence, how should the legal system respond? One approach is primarily punitive/carceral, while another approach downplays the...

Date/Time: Friday, April 26, 2024 5-6pm Location: Free Speech Wall, Charlottesville downtown mall Stop by the Free Speech Wall to share your ideas for options, services, and hope for survivors of crime and harm. CVCJ staff will be there to hand out chalk, speak with survivors and those who support them, and answer questions about...

People harmed by crimes want more than punishment. Restorative justice programs deliver. This article by the Vera Institute of Justice features a CVCJ case. Read here.

“Two years after its inception, a criminal diversion program in the Albemarle County and Charlottesville court systems is building healing after people have been wronged or hurt.” To listen and read more: https://www.wmra.org/2024-02-07/albemarle-hit-and-run-case-demonstrates-restorative-justice?fbclid=IwAR35fIwiKe1kMoeDPaomz_IoLGoP1EtkFOcxelf69olsuuu79c9qdOFhgV4

Date & Time: February 21, 6:30-8:30pm Location: Tom Tom Foundation, 100 South Street West ##1D Charlottesville, VA 22902 In this interactive session, Erin Campbell and Rydell Payne from Central Virginia Community Justice will introduce us to restorative frameworks and practices that can strengthen us as individuals and as an interconnected community. CVCJ’s restorative justice is...

Date: Thursday Jan. 25 & Friday Jan. 26, 2024 This symposium offers an expansive survey of the touchpoints and tensions of restorative justice (RJ) and the criminal legal system as well as how restorative justice is practiced and implemented in jurisdictions across the nation. Participants will hear from thought leaders in the field, gain access...

A recently formed organization called Central Virginia Community Justice can step in when a victim, such as Ford, permits it. The prosecutor must also agree to any plea agreement, and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon P. Neal made the motion Thursday to reduce the criminal charges. The deal that Judge Quatrara accepted allowed Morris — originally...

“If our goal is healing and repair… I think we have to look at different approaches and different ways of doing things.” -Joe Platania, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Charlottesville Listen here

through December 31, 2023 This giving season, please consider choosing Central Virginia Community Justice.  We’re asking our community to team up to help us reach our fundraising goal by the end of the year! To donate or create a fundraising team, please click here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/peer-to-peer/38d16842-e090-40d7-857b-7119cc7c408b

August 22, 2023 CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Today, the Albemarle & Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Offices and Central Virginia Community Justice announced a new partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice, as part of their Reshaping Prosecution Program’s Motion for Justice program. Vera will provide Central Virginia Community Justice with financial support to expand its diversion programming and provide the...

Central Virginia Community Justice is a restorative justice diversion program based out of Charlottesville, VA. They provide a “brave space for those involved in harm to lead their own accountability and healing.” CVCJ acts as a restorative alternative to the standard, punitive path of the criminal legal system. Hear from Tarek Maassarani, one of the...