The latest episode of the Talking Piece find us in conversation with Rory. a beneficiary of the MIND and Aspire programme at Northern Ireland Alternatives. Rory talks openly about what was happening in his life before being referred to Alternatives and also talks very warmly of the help he received while working with us. This is an inspiring story of hope, that when some people don't see any future for themselves there are still options if people choose to care. Very thankful to Rory, Tim and Emmet for taking the time to share about this vital piece of work that is quite literally saving lives here in NorthernIreland

episode 7 of our latest season focusses on the impact of the STARS programme. Striving Towards A Restorative Society seeks to increase the use of restorative practices within a number of targeted communities. On this episode we hear from more participants who have taken part in the initiative, specifically how they are using what they have learned in day to day life and in their work life as well. This programme is funded by Communities in Transition programme via the Northern Ireland Executive. #STARSRJ

This weeks episode explores the B.A.N.D. project (Build, Advocate, Nurture, Develop) for aspiring leaders from within the PUL community. Northern Ireland Alternatives' Operations Manager, Debbie Hammier explains the need for the project and where it fits into the restorative ethos of the organisation and Stacey Graham, talks about the benefits she has received as a result of participating on the programme.

This weeks episode explores work being done at Alternatives in the area of restorative wellbeing. Utilising a joined approach to physical and mental health with a restorative element has really seen great results, we hear from Restorative practitioner Pete Wray and some participants on the programme, about what happens and how it has helped them deal with things in their day to day lives

This weeks episode looks briefly at the purpose and impact of the SAFE project, the work that has been carried out so far and some of the learning that has taken place as a result of it. The SAFE project forms part of a wider programme funded through Communities in Transition funding.

This week's episode explores an event organised by Alternatives to engage local churches with our work and also to explore the connection between the values of restorative justice and the teachings of the church. Greater Shankill Alternatives site Manager, Billy Drummond explains about how the event came about and some of the attendees share their thoughts and what they walked away with from the event.

The latest episode of the Talking Piece podcast follows up on work being done through our BUILD project which seeks to address the issues caused by dereliction in the Shankill area and how we are working as an organisation to restore the landscape of the area and seek to regenerate unused land for the good of the community.

Mark Finnis is the director of L30 relational systems and an Independent Thinking associate and one of the UK's leading exponents of restorative practice. With many years experience working with schools, local government agencies and social services, he is in great demand as a speaker and trainer, helping organisations adopt restorative practices in a way that is practical and achievable. We caught up with Mark to find out how he first got interested in restorative practice and how that has developed over the years.

The last episode of season 2 finds us in conversation with Stuart Douglas and Beverly Brown who work on NI Alternatives programme, Aspire. Aspire seeks to work specifically with young men in Northern Ireland in a restorative manner. You will hear from Stuart and Beverly how this works and some of the impact their work has had, you will also hear from a beneficiary of the programme and how working with the staff has impacted their life. This episode is released as part of Restorative Justice Week. www.alternativesrj.co.uk

Episode 18 of the Talking Piece podcast focusses on mental health. Greater Shankill Alternatives has been providing access to a technique called havening that aims to help people deal with trauma's they have faced and work towards reducing the impact of anxiety that comes through them. We hear from 3 participants all with very different issues they have faced and they talk with our resident therapist Emmett about their experience with havening. Each one had a very different thought process about this but they all experienced positive results from their sessions with Emmet. We are glad to be able to share these stories with you and we want to say a massive thank you to Emmet and the three participants for sharing their stories. It is our hope that if someone listens to these and needs help that they feel inspired and encouraged to reach out and get the support they need. If you live in any of our office areas then please get in touch with us and we will help in any way that we can. All of our office sites contact details are on our website www.alternativesrj.co.uk Or please reach out to us via our facebook pages Alternatives RJ

Episode 8 of Season 2 finds us in conversation with Stephen and Alan from the STARS programme - Talking about the impact of restorative practice training and application of restorative skills and thats transforming individuals and their connection within their communities. It's great to hear stories like Alan's and how learning about restorative practice and putting it into practice has had an impact on his life and on the programme he runs, Sea Change. Join us on the next episode when we look at other ways we have been supporting people within our communities at Northern Ireland Alternatives where restorative practice isn't just a way of doing things, its a way of life.

Episode 7 finds us in conversation with Billy Drummond and other partners in the BUILD (Better Understanding in Local Development)Project. Looking at some of the development issues faced by the Greater Shankill community and how this project seeks to address them.

Episode 6 finds us in conversation with STARs workers, Jonny Armstrong and Stephen Hollywood, talking about the work of the STARS project, the impact that it is having on participants and how participants are living out restorative values in their personal lives and within the wider community.

This episode finds us in conversation with our friends at Longmont Community Justice Partnership, talking about their documentary "How to love your enemy", We are joined by Kathleen McGoey, Dan Sidders and Matt Battalgia talking about the reason behind the documentary and the success RJ has been in their community and specifically the relationship LCJP has with local police. The documentary can be found here: https://freethepeople.org/how-to-love-your-enemy-a-restorative-justice-story/ Here is what Free the People say about it on their website: Longmont is a city in Colorado that tries a different kind of justice system, powerful enough to transform a broken system of mass incarceration in the United States. Instead of locking up non-violent offenders, these advocates focus on the challenging but rewarding process of individual responsibility, forgiveness, and redemption that radically shifts our idea of justice and our part in it. Free the People created this original documentary film and it was the winner of Best Feature and Best Director at Front Range Film Festival and was selected at numerous other film festivals across the country, then postponed due to COVID-19. Free the People is releasing the full film ahead of schedule to join the conversation happening about police violence and racial disparities in our justice system in the United States. “How To Love Your Enemy” is an emotionally compelling story about real people working to make things right, and a tutorial for other communities looking to restore faith in their justice systems and law enforcement. Co-directed by Sam Martin and Matt Battaglia.

To celebrate restorative justice week we are releasing a special episode of the podcast that finds us in conversation with James Simon the CEO of Restorative Justice Council UK. James has a long history of implementing restorative practices within schools and shares how he was introduced to restorative practice, and the story of that first implementation in school he was head teacher at. He then goes on to share about how he became involved with the RJC. Check out our Twitter and Facebook feeds for more posts duet restorative justice week.

Episode 3 is a live broadcast that was facilitated via Streamyard and broadcast live to our YouTube channel to celebrate Good Relations week in Northern Ireland. Featuring the LINCS programme facilitated by NI Alternatives and a programme from one of our partner organisations CRJI, namely their Travellers, as well as our jointly delivered new restorative practice project STARS. We talk about the importance of good relations work and the role that restorative practices have to play in facilitating it.

Episode 2 of our new season finds us in conversation with Howard Zehr. Howard is one of the pioneers of the restorative justice movement and his books Changing Lenses and the Little Book of Restorative Justice are well known and required reading across the field. We caught up with Howard during lockdown to have this conversation via Zoom. His wealth of experience and insight was an absolute privilege to listen to, and we hope you enjoy the episode just as much as we did in having the conversation with Howard.

Welcome to the first episode of our brand new season! This episode launches a brand new project that aims to expand the use of restorative justice practice across a range of identified communitites. Funded by The Executive Office and Cooperation Ireland, and facilitated by CRJI and NIA, STARS (Striving Towards A Restorative Society)seeks to train and enable community based volunteers to implement restorative practices to enhance community based social work. We are joined on the podcast by representatives from the funders and the delivery partners, discussing the hopes for the project and the potential outcomes they would like to achieve.

Episode 10 is very different from what we at Talking Piece had originally planned. Our way of life has been seriously affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. NI Alternatives is working to provide support to the most vulnerable in our communities during this time and all 5 of our sites are working to provide: • daily telephone support to families • sharing essential information with families who require additional support • Distribution of food packages to local families, especially those that include, elderly, children, young people and those with underlying health issues • Assistance with and advice on utilities, prescriptions and other essential services • Provision of telephone counselling for people struggling with their mental health or coping issues. • Provision of youth resource packs • Online support and training for young people • Helping people stay in touch via social media eg Facebook & Zoom • Point of contact for statutory group for coordinated response • Partnering with other community organisation to share information and appropriate response and delivery of services. We have 5 sites across Belfast and Bangor, Northern Ireland. If you are from one of the following areas, contact your local office if you are in need of support. North Belfast - Joan Totten - 02890 717077 East Belfast - Mandy Kearns - 02890 456766 South Belfast - Debbie Hammill - 07415461287 Greater Shankill - Billy Drummond - 07519762488 Bangor - Pete Wray - 07410920118

Episode 9 finds us in conversation with Lindsey Pointer and Kathleen McGoey, two respected restorative trainers and practitioners from Colorado, USA. Lindsey and Kathleen are about to release their book "The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools" on March 10th. The book aims to provide trainers and facilitators with interactive games to teach the principles and practices of restorative justice. The book is available to order from Amazon, the link is available below. Alongside the book, there is a web site also being launched with even more games that couldn't be published in the book to provide an interactive resource for trainers. Lindsey and Kathleen will be hosting a webinar on 18th March and discussing the book in detail as well as delivering a course in August exploring the use of games in the training arena. This episode has some insight into how the book was written and how they chose games to be included and we also develop the beginnings of a new game for training in the episode as well!! Happy listening and as always please get in touch if you would like to find out more via podcast@alternativesrj.co.uk To sign up for the webinar use the following link: https://zehr-institute.org/webinars/rj-teaching-tools-book-launch.html To sign up for the game of the month visit: www.restorativeteachingtools.com To get your copy of the book from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Book-Restorative-Teaching-Tools/dp/168099588X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=little+book+of+restorative+teaching+tools&qid=1583749768&sr=8-1