SUMMER | AFTER SCHOOL | MENTORING | PEER MEDIATION
EARLY INTERVENTION

ACCESS Youth Early Intervention Programs strive to reduce youth recidivism and increase rehabilitation by sensitizing youth to the consequences of their behavior.

Mediation between the juvenile offender and the victim:

Helps the juvenile offender:

• Be heard
• Understand the impact of his/her behavior
• Take responsibility for his/her behavior
• Build self-esteem through “making things right” with the victim
• Consider community service, restitution, and/or apology

Helps the victim:

• Gain closure by articulating the impact that the crime had on his/her life
• Contribute to the development of the offender’s restorative commitments

Helps the community:

• Repair relationships
• Build ties with youth

ACCESS Youth Early Intervention Programs commit to:

• Referring youth to supportive and transformative resources, if/when needed
• An enduring engagement with juvenile offenders ensuring both short-term compliance and long-term success
• A community-oriented approach to conflict resolution, promising that each mediation helps to cultivate a supportive and restorative environment for the victim and offender

ACCESS Youth Early Intervention Programs endorse a holistic approach to victim-offender mediations, believing that flexibility and creativity are the keys to successful restorative justice. By treating juvenile offenders as individuals and placing their offense in the context of their social environment, ACCESS Youth encourages offenders to see a world beyond what they know. With a broadened perspective, alternatives to violence and crime become both more apparent and more attractive, strengthening communities one child at a time.