We are honored to work alongside Warren McDougall who provides countless hours of service to RJABC and his community.
“I was at the lowest point in my life. The people in the AVP showed me how to find, build, and maintain safety through connection with others. I couldn’t believe that in the eyes of these strangers I mattered and that I had something of value to contribute. I started to remember what it feels like to be human. I didn’t change overnight but that weekend set me on the path I remain on today. I had a tremendous amount of healing and growing to do, and I’m still learning and growing. Without RJ I wouldn’t have had a chance to give back and probably wouldn’t even be alive. RJ is the reason I’m where I am today, and it’s the reason I do what I do.”
Warren is serving his second year on the board as the Board Treasurer. Warren is a practicing Indigenous clinical counsellor, specializing in stress-related unwellness commonly known as addiction, anxiety, depression, grief and trauma.
What does Restorative Justice mean to me?
I had a difficult childhood and was impacted by trauma, oppression and harm. My personal journey with restorative justice started when I decided to participate in an Alternative to Violence Program (AVP). Like many individuals who have been incarcerated, my time inside created more trauma and distrust and so it was with some skepticism that I signed up for the AVP three-day workshop, thinking it might look good for my parole officer. Instead, it changed my perspective and challenged my world view. I was at the lowest point in my life. The people in the AVP showed me how to find, build, and maintain safety through connection with others. I couldn’t believe that in the eyes of these strangers I mattered and that I had something of value to contribute. I started to remember what it feels like to be human. I didn’t change overnight but that weekend set me on the path I remain on today. I had a tremendous amount of healing and growing to do, and I’m still learning and growing. Without RJ I wouldn’t have had a chance to give back and probably wouldn’t even be alive. RJ is the reason I’m where I am today, and it’s the reason I do what I do.
After the AVP program I begin a path of service. I leaned into this yearning to give back and build connections and relationships to address harm. Though I know I cannot repair all the harms I’ve caused, I can commit to service and ongoing acts of atonement. On this path to giving back, I have worked as a peer counsellor, as an advocate, as a clinical counsellor, and consultant. I’ve shared my story where appropriate, to illustrate the connections between trauma, substance use, and criminal behaviour, and the path to healing through connection. Restorative justice values and beliefs are a common thread that runs throughout my work. I use my lived experience as a story for connection, to not be ashamed of my past rather to use it to do good. I find that I continue to get called to do restorative work, in many different ways, including consultation, dialogues, developing and delivering training, Circle work, and clinical work. I’ve helped develop training for Gladue writers, cultural safety in community services, and other legal professionals, on changes that are necessary for the justice system. Our system is archaic, because its response to harm does not address the needs of those involved and because it blames, punishes, and aggravates stress- and trauma-related behaviours. So much work needs to be done so that our justice and social systems understand behaviour linked to stress and trauma and how our brains and bodies are wired to respond. It’s that understanding that will empower people in those systems to respond to needs in a way that’s supportive, rather than punitive. The punishment mentality permeates so many of our practices, at school, in our parenting, in social services, in the justice system, even in health care! We still believe in hard consequences, and “teaching them a lesson”, even though we’ve seen for hundreds of years that that hasn’t worked. We need systems change; paradigms change. I will continue to show up and respond to what I’m called to do and do the best I can to bring awareness and growth. This approach, where I go as I’m called rather than trying to build a ‘career,’ has provided me with many wonderful opportunities. Working on the RJABC Board is one of those wonderful opportunities. This is an opportunity to work with a great team of “doer’s,” people who want to foster the growth of RJ in this province and are very busy in what they do. It is amazing to be part of this team focused on restorative values. I am so grateful and honoured to be a part of this team.
