Our Senior Practitioner meets the Mayor of Portsmouth

Samantha (Senior Practioner), attended the Restorative Justice Christmas Conference in December and this was a great opportunity for partner agencies who work with Portsmouth Mediation Service (such as Portsmouth City Council, You Trust) to meet up and talk about all things Restorative. PMS premiered their short film which promoted their vision of a Restorative Portsmouth, a presentation was given by the Safeguarding Manager from Portsmouth City Council and the Imam from Portsmouth Jami Mosque spoke about his work with PMS too.

Samantha was invited to attend this Christmas Conference as she had completed the four day Restorative Justice Facilitators Course back in November 2018. This training course was an extremely enjoyable course and a real eye-opener as it helped her to understand and appreciate the importance of working with people in a restorative way, not just in the workplace but also in her personal life too. One of the most interesting parts of the course for Samantha was learning about the Social Discipline Window which suggests that “people are happier, more cooperative and productive, and more likely to make positive changes when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to them or for them.” Samantha has been able to use this knowledge to help her to be much more mindful of working with her clients by taking the time to listen to them and understand what is going on for them, whilst also ensuring that her approach is one that shows respect and compassion.

Samantha was presented with her course certificate by the Mayor of Portsmouth at the Annual Christmas Conference.