3 June 1999 Edition
Total commitment paying off
In the last of four articles examining the positive effect Community Restorative Justice (CRJ) can have in mending community relationships, Ned Kelly talks to Tommy Holland and Marty Morris - two members of the Upper Springfield team in Belfast, who have driven the project forward to a position of pre-eminence in Ireland.
The legacy of Fr. Des Wilson and Frank Cahill, who forged the tradition of community development and local ownership of community projects in the Upper Springfield area, is the inspiration for both Tommy and Marty - who both have over 20 years experience of working locally for the community.
``Fr. Des and Frank,'' starts Marty, ``are very much the inspiration that brought us into community development work. CRJ fits in with that vision of democracy at a local level.''
It is this commitment to bringing the institutions, services, decisions and relationships that effect the local community, as close as possible to the local community - through democratic participation - that made CRJ such an exciting idea for the two men when it first formally appeared in the ``Blue Book''.
When the Blue Book, written by academics, community workers and republicans, appeared two years ago, Tommy and Marty greeted its arrival as marking a ``great potential''.
``After the Blue Book,'' says Marty, ``we realised the potential that existed to engage local people to deal with local community issues in a way that doesn't brutalise anyone. This is a progression in community development and the only logical next step.''
Tommy adds: ``The reason CRJ is being so successful in the Upper Springfield is that we have in place a very, very vibrant and committed community structure.
``Residents' associations and community groups were already dealing, in an informed way, with problems in the community. Community activists were the first port of call, but it was always informal. CRJ is a structured formal way of dealing with these issues or concerns.''
Following ``long debate'' in the area between February and June 1998, Marty says, ``We came up with what we see as a viable model.''
``The Upper Springfield Community Forum, with over 70 groups from every strand of community life, engaged in the project. Twenty people from within the forum gave a commitment to the training, and 20 further people from throughout the whole community are due to start training next week.''
``But more importantly,'' adds Tommy, ``the whole project is overseen on a daily basis by a structured safety committee. This involves community workers of long standing like Terry Enright Snr. and Eilish Reilly, young people like Stephen McGlade and Julie Fryers and community workers from outside like Marshall Mooney.''
Asking the pair about the negative press CRJ has been garnering brings a knowing smile to the two men. ``It's been decided,'' says Marty, ``at the safety committee level that we will not be wasting our energy responding to negative media. While we don't understand the response and feel it comes from a lack of understanding, the positive effect we are having can be seen in the people contacting us. Not just locally but we have had referrals from as far afield as Omagh and Jonesborough - these are the indications that CRJ is a positive proactive intervention.''
Tommy also wants to stress that because CRJ is about agreement arrived at by the people involved, solutions will not always work - obviously not everyone sticks to such contracts. Of course we recognise there are limitations to CRJ and we can't win all the cases but we will give 100% commitment to every case.''
``We are a relatively new project, ``says Marty, ``and we ask people to hang on in there. We are striving to continually develop. The absolute priorities are confidentiality and consistency. We are working on team policy, a code of conduct and operational procedure all the time.''
Both men live and work in the Upper Springfield area and both are parents. CRJ is for them something that can be built on for their children and grandchildren.
You suspect both men might be in need of CRJ intervention in the future given the massive commitment both have to it and the amount of time they spend away from home. So it is vital that people get involved, give a little and share the workload.
Upper Springfield training courses are starting next week - anyone interested should contact the Whiterock Resourse Centre or ring (01232) 328928. Or outside the area should ring Jim Auld (01232) 301521.
The legacy of Fr. Des Wilson and Frank Cahill, who forged the tradition of community development and local ownership of community projects in the Upper Springfield area, is the inspiration for both Tommy and Marty - who both have over 20 years experience of working locally for the community.
``Fr. Des and Frank,'' starts Marty, ``are very much the inspiration that brought us into community development work. CRJ fits in with that vision of democracy at a local level.''
It is this commitment to bringing the institutions, services, decisions and relationships that effect the local community, as close as possible to the local community - through democratic participation - that made CRJ such an exciting idea for the two men when it first formally appeared in the ``Blue Book''.
When the Blue Book, written by academics, community workers and republicans, appeared two years ago, Tommy and Marty greeted its arrival as marking a ``great potential''.
``After the Blue Book,'' says Marty, ``we realised the potential that existed to engage local people to deal with local community issues in a way that doesn't brutalise anyone. This is a progression in community development and the only logical next step.''
Tommy adds: ``The reason CRJ is being so successful in the Upper Springfield is that we have in place a very, very vibrant and committed community structure.
``Residents' associations and community groups were already dealing, in an informed way, with problems in the community. Community activists were the first port of call, but it was always informal. CRJ is a structured formal way of dealing with these issues or concerns.''
Following ``long debate'' in the area between February and June 1998, Marty says, ``We came up with what we see as a viable model.''
``The Upper Springfield Community Forum, with over 70 groups from every strand of community life, engaged in the project. Twenty people from within the forum gave a commitment to the training, and 20 further people from throughout the whole community are due to start training next week.''
``But more importantly,'' adds Tommy, ``the whole project is overseen on a daily basis by a structured safety committee. This involves community workers of long standing like Terry Enright Snr. and Eilish Reilly, young people like Stephen McGlade and Julie Fryers and community workers from outside like Marshall Mooney.''
Asking the pair about the negative press CRJ has been garnering brings a knowing smile to the two men. ``It's been decided,'' says Marty, ``at the safety committee level that we will not be wasting our energy responding to negative media. While we don't understand the response and feel it comes from a lack of understanding, the positive effect we are having can be seen in the people contacting us. Not just locally but we have had referrals from as far afield as Omagh and Jonesborough - these are the indications that CRJ is a positive proactive intervention.''
Tommy also wants to stress that because CRJ is about agreement arrived at by the people involved, solutions will not always work - obviously not everyone sticks to such contracts. Of course we recognise there are limitations to CRJ and we can't win all the cases but we will give 100% commitment to every case.''
``We are a relatively new project, ``says Marty, ``and we ask people to hang on in there. We are striving to continually develop. The absolute priorities are confidentiality and consistency. We are working on team policy, a code of conduct and operational procedure all the time.''
Both men live and work in the Upper Springfield area and both are parents. CRJ is for them something that can be built on for their children and grandchildren.
You suspect both men might be in need of CRJ intervention in the future given the massive commitment both have to it and the amount of time they spend away from home. So it is vital that people get involved, give a little and share the workload.
Upper Springfield training courses are starting next week - anyone interested should contact the Whiterock Resourse Centre or ring (01232) 328928. Or outside the area should ring Jim Auld (01232) 301521.