Program at a glance
Age
12-24 years old
Hours
Monday-Friday 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. (flexible)
Referral Source
RCMP and Community
At BGC Okanagan, we believe that every young person deserves a safe place to belong and the chance to build a strong future.
Young people make mistakes — sometimes serious ones — and too often those mistakes can shape their lives for years to come.
Our Restorative Justice Program offers a different path. One that brings people together, repairs harm, strengthens communities, and helps youth take responsibility without carrying a lifelong criminal record. This is an approach to crime or conflict that finds the underlying cause of the act rather than seeking punishment. It brings together the person harmed and the person responsible to talk about what happened, why it happened, understand the impact, and decide together how the harm can be repaired.
The Restorative Justice Program offers a community-based alternative to crime or conflict involving youth and young adults (ages 12–24). We deal with crime, conflict resolution, and incidents by focusing on accountability, understanding impact, and creating meaningful opportunities for repair. Our program can be an alternative to the traditional court system and can provide the opportunity for a youth to avoid receiving a criminal record, it may also be utilized in school, home, and community environments.
Referrals can be made by schools, RCMP, community agencies, parents, or individuals following incidents such as interpersonal conflict, theft, assault, etc.
Once referred, trained staff and volunteers guide participants through a restorative process that may include a facilitated Community Justice Conference or Peace Circles.
Together, all parties develop a fair agreement for the youth/ young adult that supports healing, positive change, and works towards repairing harm that has been caused.
We serve Peachland, West Kelowna, Kelowna, and Lake Country and are here to support individuals and families in finding constructive paths forward.