Let's Circle Up: An Introductory Restorative Justice Workshop
Participants at the Let's Circle Up workshop in 2017.
Members of the Haverford community and the Greater Philadelphia region are invited to join this free 10-hour introduction to restorative justice (RJ).
Saturday and Sunday, February 15-16
10am-4pm, CPGC Cafe (Stokes 104)
Haverford College
Register Here
Facilitated by Benny Ortega, Mike Riccio '13, and Amanda Grolig '19
Members of the Haverford community and the Greater Philadelphia region are invited to join this free 10-hour introduction to restorative justice (RJ). The highly participatory workshop was developed by men incarcerated at Graterford Prison and will be facilitated by leaders of Let's Circle Up. The four themes addressed in workshop sessions are: rethinking justice, exploring harm, developing restorative approaches, and applying RJ values to our lives.
Let's Circle Up has engaged more than 1000 participants since its founding in 2007.
This workshop is open and free, and lunch will be provided. Space is limited - please register here.
Contact Amanda Grolig at agrolig [at] haverford.edu" target="_blank">agrolig [at] haverford.edu with questions.
About the Facilitators:
Benny Ortega Is a Steering Committee member with Lets Circle Up (LCU), a restorative justice project at SCI-Phoenix. Benny is formerly incarcerated, having been granted executive clemency by Pennsylvania’s Governor Tom Wolf after 23 years of incarceration. During his incarceration, Benny was involved a number of other peer-led programs. Benny brings to his work his personal experience with the criminal justice and prison systems, as well as his transition to society.
Michael Riccio graduated from Haverford College in 2013 with a BA in sociology where he wrote a thesis on the adverse effects of the US criminal legal system upon poor, urban, predominantly black neighborhoods. He got involved with Let’s Circle Up at Graterford as part of his Haverford House project and quickly got hooked on Restorative Justice principles, facilitation, and the grassroots feel of the group. Michael has been a participant or has facilitated Introductory, Advanced, Alumni Project, Steering Committee Meetings and Restorative Integration workshops since joining the group in 2014. He enjoys running, fishing, and reading when he isn’t at the prison. He currently resides in Philadelphia where he works as a paralegal for Philadelphia Legal Assistance.
Amanda Grolig graduated from Haverford College with a major in Sociology, a minor in Spanish, and a concentration in Gender and Sexuality Studies. For the majority of her time at Haverford, she volunteered with Let’s Circle Up (LCU), a restorative justice education group run by men inside SCI-Phoenix. She will continue her work with LCU throughout her Haverford House Fellowship, while also staffing the Save Your Home Philly Hotline at Philadelphia Legal Assistance. Amanda plans on continuing her anti-prison, restorative justice work while learning more about the structural inequalities in Philadelphia that create harm and injustice.
