About the RJ Project

The vision of the LMU Center for Urban Resilience (CURes) Restorative Justice Project (RJ Project) is to impact systemic education reform and transform social structures towards a more just society. The RJ Project offers RJ Practices trainings and programs dedicated to making the vision of a holistic citywide health and resilience a reality. CURes recognizes that when people feel safe and connected, the health and growth of their community flourishes.

An org chart showing that LMU started CURes in 2011, which started the Restorative Justice Project in 2015, which started the Southern California Restorative Justice Consortium in 2019

Aligning with LMU's mission of education of the whole person, Restorative Justice Practices are based on principles that emphasize how positive relationships are central to building community and involve processes that hold people accountable for their behavior by exploring root causes of behavior when conflict occurs. To make an impact, the RJ Project provides educational trainings, Restorative Conferencing facilitation services, and opportunities to collaborate through the Southern California Restorative Justice Consortium.

The LMU Office of Student Affairs and Office of Student Conduct & Community Responsibility (OSCCR) has been engaging in a partnership with CURes RJ Project since 2018, providing the LMU campus community with safe and inclusive tools to build connection and address conflict. To date, participants have included representatives from Parking and Transportation Department, Public Safety, Sorority and Fraternity Leadership (SFL), Student Housing, and The Learning Community (TLC).

Ties to CURes and LMU

The Southern California Restorative Justice Consortium is an organization of academics, environmental professionals and community partners committed to improving the quality of life in urban communities, especially those that have been historically underserved. Expertise in science, policy, ethics, natural history, urban planning, and educational practices is utilized to conduct interdisciplinary, community-based research projects on a wide variety of topics including animal social behavior, environmental quality, human response to the environment, and ethical management of natural resources.

The Restorative Justice Project is a core program of CURes, offering tools and training in restorative justice designed to advance urban health and resilience. The goal is to provide the communities with practices that can be used to help cultivate knowledgeable, responsible, and civically engaged citizens.

"Restorative Justice and Restorative Practices provides a framework for a healthy dialogue with conflict at all levels. Although we may believe that in a 'polite' society we can sidestep or submerge our disagreements, they are, in fact, critical to a functioning democracy and a progressive community. RJ provides tools to help us embrace conflict on a daily basis and manage extreme cases where someone is harmed. All the while, strengthening the social fiber that binds us together and trying never to exile members from the community…"

– Eric Strauss, CURes Executive Director