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Each and every one of us has a life story to tell. And every story needs to be heard by someone. The Healing Memories workshop offers an opportunity to explore and acknowledge the emotional wounds we carry on an individual and collective level (family, community and country). We all carry a backpack full of stones, big or small, so let’s give ourselves the opportunity to lighten it.
==> More information on the workshop, by clicking here
Each of us has a story, a life journey to tell. And every story needs someone to hear it. The Healing Memories workshop provides an opportunity to explore and acknowledge the emotional wounds we carry on individual and collective levels (family, community and nation).
The actual cost of the workshop is $450 + accommodation ($235) but thanks to the financial support, we are able to offer the workshop at a reduced cost.
It is also possible to contribute according to your income. We will not refuse anyone for financial reasons.
For more information on the workshop
Translation from French to English might be possible during the workshop, but please note that a minimum of French understanding is required to participate in this workshop.
For several years now, the CSJR has been exploring different ways to address the complexity of collective trauma: a coffee chat #metoo in 2017, a meeting on indoctrination and racism in 2018, and talking circles for the expropriated people of Mirabel in 2020.
This year, funded by Fonds d’aide aux victimes d’actes criminels (FAVAC), the CSJR is developing two pilot projects to implement a restorative justice approach adapted to the specificity of collective trauma:
These pilot projects will be built according to an inductive, creative and participative methodology. Moreover, we invite participants to share their views in a spirit of co-construction according to the needs that emerged during our meetings.
Collective trauma is different from individual trauma because it is directly linked to social, political or historical structures. In order to be able to work in a restorative justice context, we consider collective trauma as the consequence of an act carried out by one or more people or institutions that directly or indirectly affects a group (e.g. expropriated people of Mirabel), or for what it represents as an identity marker (e.g. the attack on the Mosque of Quebec), chronically (e.g. feminicides) or intergenerationally (e.g. colonialism-racism).
We therefore exclude accidental events, natural climatic, geological or epidemic causes in these pilot projects.
See the video explaining restorative justice according to the CSJR (in French)
In these pilot projects, we wish to support a process of transformation of communities affected by violence by engaging the participants in a space of dialogue. We will address violence without violence, beyond polarization, stigmatization or punishment, without downplaying and minimizing its scope or consequences. We hope to develop the necessary capacities as a society to fight and act concretely, to build and (re)invent, together.
The process invites the participants into an exploratory and engaging space. It is different from a support or therapy approach. The participants put their experience at the service of the collective and transform their individual suffering into civic engagement. A process by individuals, for a new collective future. It is different from a traditional restorative justice approach.
Our vision in pictures (under construction)
For all questions related to group trauma projects, please contact Cloé at cloedaguet@csjr.org.
From May 27 to 29, 2022, 23 peoples from the Atikamekw community and 23 non-Indigenous people met in Trois-Rivières for the “Germe de justice réparatrice” (translates to Seeds of Restorative Justice) meeting. The weekend built in the spirit of restorative justice was conceived and organized by the CSJR and the Atikamekw community, with the financial support of Health Canada First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB).
Participants experienced strong moments of sharing, in truth and with humility, on personal stories but also on the wounds of the past (e.g. abuse in residential schools, child abduction, colonization) and those of today (e.g. racism, exploitation, non-respect). We had the opportunity to bond and empower each other during a ritual that was co-created together but we also enjoyed times of communion, joy and friendship. It was a weekend rich in emotions shared in intensity that wove bonds between us.
We did not come out of this meeting the same. Several people testified to share their profound transformations. We agreed to answer the call to continue to walk together, in the spirit of restorative justice that was strenghtened during this weekend.
The aim of this project is to allow the expression of what can be hard to put in words, and to raise awareness about restorative justice as well as the path of victims of crime through a universal language, the art.
40 selected artworks will be exhibited in the online art gallery, Gallea for a one-month period from May 15 to 21, 2022. If conditions permitted, ten or so works will then be selected for an exhibition on site in Montreal.
Let your voice be heard to inspire others and contribute to public awareness.
Do you need help or you have more questions? Write to manonmazenod@csjr.org
If you want to learn more about Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2022, click here.
The project is financed by Justice Canada and supported by the Association québécoise Plaidoyer-Victimes and the Centre d’aide aux Victimes d’Actes Criminels. We thank them warmly.
Each year, the CSJR accompanies about 250 people affected by violence (victims, perpetrators and community members) to find ways of healing together through restorative justice, thanks to restorative justice meetings and workshops.
In 2021, we adapted many of our services to the pandemic context, offering them online, which enabled us to reach people in remote areas (memory healing workshops, TransfoLab, training, awareness-raising, art therapy workshops and an exhibition of art works created by people who have been victims, etc.). Support was also offered by telephone, such as to women in prison.
We have reached 600 students in universities and CEGEPs and have increased awareness of restorative justice among several thousands of people, thanks to our activities and media presence, but also our Facebook page.
In 2022, please help us to reduce our waiting lists, make our services accessible to more people and allow for restorative justice to become a community resilience tool for both individual and collective trauma.
All this will be possible thanks to your generosity.
To join us in our mission to transform lives and our communities, donate today
Restorative justice is a process of dialogue and sharing of experiences in a group setting that promotes individual healing and the repair of social bonds broken by violence.
The CSJR has a charity number. You can therefore receive a donation receipt for tax purposes for any amount over $20.
→ To make a donation:
→ Discover on our website the testimonials of people who have suffered or committed a crime, and from community members who have accompanied these restorative justice processes.
See the video for this campaign (only in French).
The call for entries has started! Send in your creations by October 22 to participate in the Victims and Survivors of Crime Week exhibition.
With the Gallea online art gallery, the CSJR invites you to share your creations (paintings, photographs, drawings, sculptures, prints, poetry, slam…). No need to be a professional artist. Don’t hesitate!
Your story and your creative process can inspire others and will contribute to raising awareness.
The call for entries is on the Gallea website.
If you need help to create your profile on Gallea and upload your photo and presentation of your work, contact us at csjr@csjr.org.
The exhibition will be held online from mid-November to the end of the year.
Please note that an event will be organized on Friday, November 19th, starting at 5:30 pm, in a bistro in Montreal. More information to come.
This exhibition is possible by the funding of Justice Canada.
Words beyond walls
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Centre for Services in Restorative Justice (CSJR) invites you to take part in a mail-art project. The theme of the project is:
“Words Beyond Walls”
Rules and conditions
Application deadline is July 31st, 2021
The postcard must be sent by mail and include the following details: your name, mailing address, and email address.
Where to send it: CSJR, 7333 rue Saint-Denis, Montreal (Quebec) H2R 2E5 CANADA – csjr@csjr.org
About « Mail Art »
Mail art is an artistic correspondence where both the envelope and the contents become an artistic expression of support placing equal value on text and image. This form of expression was inspired by the practices of soldiers during the war. They would draw on postcards and envelopes sent to their families to share what they were not able to express with words and in order to avoid censure.
Mail art often uses the following mediums: collage, photocopies, seals, stamps, visual work on the envelope, scripture, typewriters, stencils, stationery, adhesives, etc.