HOLLAND, Mich. — A $20,000 award from the Community Foundation of the Holland Zeeland area (CF/HZ) will help give first-time juvenile lawbreakers in Ottawa County a chance to make amends.
Mediation Services says the award will be presented Tuesday, Sept. 6.
“We are grateful for this investment from the CF/HZ,” says Mediation Services Executive Director Elizabeth Scott. “This grant means we can now offer young offenders a better way forward, which helps to strengthen our entire community.”
We’re told the RH2: Repair Harm & Restore Hope initiative allows juveniles in the county’s justice system to listen to their victims and understand how they were affected.
The program involves having qualified lawbreakers write letters of apology to those who were harmed by their actions. Successful completion gives participants opportunities to prevent them from having a juvenile court record, Mediation Services says.
Mediation Services tells us the program may lower the number of young people within the court system.
