About CJC

Restorative Justice creates a better community for all.

Photo of a man in a white tee shirt, white baseball cap, black pants, and white tennis shoes holding a little boy and hugging a woman with his other arm. The little boy is wearing blue and white PJs and grey socks and the woman has long black hair and is wearing a black shirt and jeans. They are standing outside on the sidewalk in front of a beige house with a silver car in the driveway and a lawn to their left.
Read more About our Programs

The Community Justice Center (CJC) in Fresno, California was founded in 2020 amidst the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenging times and the appearance of being a brand new organization, the CJC has experienced immense growth and was given a huge boost when we were entrusted with valuable, longstanding programs from Fresno Pacific University’s Center for Peacemaking, including VORP, the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (youth diversion program) and COSA, Circles of Support and Accountability (adult restorative reentry program). 

These restorative justice initiatives are data-driven and proven to save lives, save time and save money by investing in community well-being. 

What does CJC do?

CJC facilitates healing through empowering, restorative programs:

  • Community Support
  • Reintegration and community support for our community members coming home after incarceration
  • Mediation between offenders and victims
  • Courses for youth and adults  
  • Providing restorative resolution to community conflict

Text to Donate

Please help support our mission by participating in in our We Are Community Justice campaign with a quick and easy text message donation!

Text SUPPORTCJC
to 53-555 to donate
QR Code

Here’s another quick way to donate to our #GivingTuesday campaign. Just scan this QR code with your phone or mobile device. 

RECENT BLOG POSTS
Photo of man in a blue dress shirt smiling

Vanna In’s Story

The majority of individuals who are living their life on an everyday basis do not need or desire conflict in their lives. And why should they? We all desire for things to run smoothly, so as not to interrupt our lives, but we know that is not the real world. When one is involved in community mediation, we know that conflict is: normal, natural and necessary, and if conflict is not dealt with at the earliest stage, it only festers and builds and leads to the type of situation where more injury can occur. 

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September 11, 2022 No Comments
Photo of a man wearing a helmet, a dark shirt, and grey shorts. He is standing next to a red mountain bike with hills and trees behind him and he is giving a peace sign.

David’s Story

“We do not heal isolation. Connecting with others is how we develop compassion for others and for ourselves. A person is a person through other persons; you can’t be human in isolation; you are human only in relationships” -Desmund Tutu The COSA program is committed to creating a safer community by supporting adults in reentry.

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July 5, 2022 No Comments
Photo of a group of 5 people meeting in CJC's offices for a VORP Circle. They are seated on couches and chairs and a man in blue is reading from a paper.

Michael’s Story

Here at VORP, we believe that true justice is Restorative. This belief allows us to address the harms and needs of those harmed as well as those who have caused harm instead of simply inflicting punishment.  In a recent case, a high school student by the name of Michael stole another student’s (Catherine) phone, and

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July 5, 2022 No Comments
Events

Trainings, Workshops, Certifications, and more.

Looking for an upcoming volunteer orientation, workshop, or other community event? Check out the calendar here or go straight to our events page for all the details and the ability to search for events. 

GO TO THE EVENTS PAGE

Events Coming Up:

View Calendar
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