In Support of VAYA
What crime victims are saying . . .
"I believe your program has benefitted all involved. It gave us a chance to voice our grievances regarding the offender's actions of last spring. It also provided us some insight as to what their thought process was at the time and how, I believe, they’ve progressed in understanding the error of what they did. They faced the consequences and took responsibility for their actions. Thank you very much for your program. Dialogue does work."
"I feel a sense of relief and completion over my own crime experience."
"It was helpful and nice to have closure for the whole situation and for the person to take responsibility for his actions."
"VAYA has been helpful in allowing us to gain closure. I see the many ways in which the offender has grown, learned to make better decisions, and has taken responsibility for her actions. I can clearly see a brighter future in what the offender has to offer society."
"I now realize the offender has remorse. This is very helpful in bringing closure to the situation. It has been helpful because I don’t feel as worried that there will be more problems and I feel that it all is finally coming to an end. Having an apology in person and having the offender face me was helpful for the both of us. It has helped me see the changes he (offender) is making."
"Provided closure and hope for a change in direction for the offender.
I just feel very happy there are programs put into place to help people get through the difficult times."
"I knew he was a good kid but knowing he has remorse about it was a good feeling. It brought the situation to a close for me."
What youth offenders are saying . . .
"This has changed my attitude toward the victim. At first I didn’t know who she was but now that I have met her and know what she has been through I feel really bad. I feel totally responsible for my actions."
"I see more clearly exactly what kind of hassle they (victim) have to go through. The effects on them are way more serious than I ever imagined."
"I believed he (victim) was going to be a total bad guy, but instead he is nice and caring. I feel terrible for what I did."
"I like the feeling of relief through mediation. It has helped me realize how much I hurt the victim. Before I didn’t really care about what I did to them (victims) and now I realize what I did was wrong. It has been helpful because I shared things I haven’t shared before even to my parents."
"It has brought closure to the whole situation and brought peace to me."
"I learned I am responsible for my actions."
"I learned to look at the way the victim must have felt. I learned accountability, empathy, and letting go. I liked the other students because I felt like I had common ground with them. I learned to always take responsibility for your actions."
"We all need to take responsibility for our actions and learn from our mistakes. I learned to just connect with the truth. Thank you. You have a lot of insight and I can really tell that you care."
"For a few months after this all happened I was saying I was the victim, but now I know I am not. I learned that even the smallest bad choice you make makes a difference in a lot of people’s lives."
What youth offender's parents are saying . . .
"This was helpful in helping my son understand empathy and responsibility for his actions."
"This helped my son to start growing up. I haven’t been more proud of him, the classes made him own up to his responsibilities. This is a very good idea."
"This brought to my attention that I needed to tell my son about how I felt. It helped me to tell my son how I felt about the change in him now. I failed to tell him this before the dialogue."
"Thank you for taking the time to help our children. As the parent I feel it has been very helpful getting my son to open up."
"Good job! It really helped my daughter to realize she is accountable for her actions."
