COMMUNITY Restorative Justice Ireland (CRJI) aspires to build a tolerant, responsive and inclusive community by providing restorative justice services to local areas.
Now regarded as an international beacon for best practice, CRJI services cover a wide variety of programmes, including mediation, support and advice, housing aid, social justice initiatives, and under threat interventions, in addition to a host of other activities.
It regularly collaborates with statutory agencies, including the police, the Housing Executive, social services, and Probation Board, as well as local organisations, such as women’s centres, food banks, housing associations, and youth groups.
In the New Lodge area the team are based in the New Lodge Housing Office on the New Lodge Road, led by Chrissie Mac Siacais and her team, who have recently acquired premises at 14 Pinkerton Way which will be open to the public in due course.
Speaking to the North Belfast News, Sean Osborne, part-time Community Safety Worker with CRJ, explained more about their work in the area and some of the main issues affecting the New Lodge community.
“I have been involved in CRJ since the late 1990’s, mostly in West Belfast,” he said.
“CRJI is now a key organisation within the Department for Justice. We can now sit around the table with statutory agencies.
“We have been present in North Belfast since October and in that short space of time, it has been about getting an understanding of what issues there are in the area.
“We work with New Lodge Safer Streets, police, housing associations, Council and local community groups
“Anti-social behaviour is still a big issue. We work with youth providers and youth workers who in this area are brilliant. We know that it drops due to the good youth provision."
He said there are interface issues in Duncairn Gardens and around Tesco site at Cityside.
"Security guards were provided with bodycams which we have seen has deterred anti-social behaviour," he added. "We know that some security guards have them and some don’t and that is a question we have asked.
“We are still dealing with a number of isolated incidents. They are very young kids but we need to challenge their behaviour and work with their parents to stop it from happening.
“Being new into the area, we want to get to know more and more people from the area."
Sean said that through his community work in West Belfast, he has had his car burnt and his house attacked but it hasn’t deterred him because of the results that are achieved.
“We know about issues around August bonfires in recent years. Recently, we organised to get some wooden pallets lifted. We know that bonfires are not welcome in this area.
“Community safety issues are similar in so many issues across Belfast and other parts of the North. We know that our programmes work and the statutory agencies know they have to work with us to hear the issues and we need to ask them what they are doing about it.”
Michael O’Hara, a volunteer with CRJ in the New Lodge has set up a community safety engagement forum for the area.
“We wanted to build on the current structures that exist in the community,” he added.
“Our first meeting was in December with around 39 groups including elected reps, community groups, statutory agencies. It is the start of a process of monthly meetings to tackle all issues related to community safety.
“Our ambition is that it is driven by the community.
“We were told that the top issues in the community are violence against women, anti-social behaviour and drugs/alcohol.
“The whole idea of the forum is for people to know what is happening in the area and to get everyone to work together and maximize efforts to fix any problems. There are significant issues but at the same time, there is significant goodwill in this area.
“It is early days of the forum but I am very positive. We also have secured some pots of funding which will be used to deliver projects in the area for the local community, including training in local schools.
“We need to keep pushing ahead because we have lost time due to the Covid pandemic. Early intervention is key to tackling issues. There is a pro-active and structured approach which exists within the people of the area.”
Delivering key programmes and training is a priority for Chrissie Mac Siacais.
TEAMWORK: Michael O'Hara and Chrissie Mac Siacais 
“The CRJI STARS (Striving Towards a Restorative Society) initiative has engaged the community and statutory groups along with the schools in North Belfast to recruit all interested parties for training and knowledge through its OCN and information sessions," explained Chrissie.
“To date we have engaged with the community organisations and have recruited Hazelwood Integrated to deliver training to staff and senior students. This is due to go online in April 2022.
“We continue to release articles in the Ashton Centre magazine which is delivered to 3,500 doors.
“By engaging the local area churches to date, Holy Cross Chapel (Ardoyne) – we have secured training premises and use of the facilities to host events. We hope to do the same in the Oldpark and lower New Lodge which covers a wide area.
“We have also secured other training premises in the New Lodge area for the incoming year through Newington Housing Group. Mentoring of the participants is ongoing and it is proposed that mentees will avail of further training in community resilience, anger management, trauma and by-stander training."
She said the incoming year will benefit from interagency information sessions.
Upcoming training sessions on domestic violence change to the law will take place in the Houben Centre 10am and 12 noon on March 22 and March 29.
Community Safety Training will take place on March 9 and 10 in the Houben Centre between 5-8pm.
OCN Restorative Practice, Level 2.
If you want to register or any of these programmes, please contact cmacs@crjireland.org.
For further information on services and training, please visit the CRJI website here.
