The John Marshall Law School Awarded Grant to Expand Anti-Violence Restorative Justice Work in Chicago Public School

(PRWEB) May 13, 2015 -- The John Marshall Law School has been awarded a grant from the City of Chicago to expand its work in helping mentor students in Chicago Public Schools and keep them out of gangs.

The City of Chicago Department of Public Health has awarded a $64,000 two-year grant to John Marshall’s Restorative Justice Project to expand its efforts in providing restorative justice practices to the students at the Cesar E. Chávez Multicultural Academic Center. The elementary school in the Back of the Yards neighborhood provides an educational setting for nearly 1,000 students.

“We have been heavily involved in restorative justice issues at the Chávez Elementary school for several years. This grant allows us to continue and to have an even greater impact, not only in the school but also in the broader community,” said Michael Seng, co-director of The Restorative Justice Project. “The grant is making a real difference in the lives of the children who attend Chávez and on their families. It is also having a major impact on the lives and career goals of the law students who participate in the program.”

The goal of the Restorative Justice Project is to enhance restorative justice in Chicago's public schools and to provide awareness of restorative justice in the broader community. The project aims to:

• Create a culture that supports a peaceful resolution of disputes where student, faculty and administrators treat each other with dignity;
• Provide increased community awareness of restorative justice practices;        
• Interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline by providing guidance and hope to students;
• Ultimately lead to a decrease in violence within the greater Chicago community; and
• Sensitize law students to restorative justice practices and to the underserved communities of the city of Chicago.

For more information about John Marshall’s Restorative Justice Project, visit http://www.jmls.edu/restorative-justice/ or contact Christine Kraly at [email protected] or 312-427-2737 ext. 171.

Christine Kraly, The John Marshall Law School, http://www.jmls.edu, +1 (312) 427-2737 Ext: 171, [email protected]

SOURCE The John Marshall Law School