News
For more current news on Lorenn's work, Please refer to: Lorenn's blog
July 2010
Lorenn is going to Brazil to visit prisons, one of which has no guards and only a 4% recidivism rates, and other programs, then retuning to the U.S. July 14 and visiting Chicago and the Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers CLAIM program and then returning to O'ahu July 19.
June 2010
Continue providing Huikahi Circles and Lorenn will attend and present at Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Institute - June 29 - July 2 in Washington D.C. http://solutionfocuseddc.blogspot.com
May 2010
Rebecca returned to Boston to study for the state bar examination in July. Provided more Huikahi Circles and submitted grant proposals.
April 2010
Continued providing Huikahi Circles and prepared grant proposal to fund the program. A paper following up on people who had Circles and have been out of prison 2+ years was completed with Rebecca's great help. We found excellent and very promising results with a small sample of 23 people. Sustained satisfaction (healing) of loved ones/victims even when the formerly imprisoned person is re-incarcerated and lower recidivism of the incarcerated people. The paper will be published by Federal Probation Journal in June, 2010: Huikahi Restorative Circles: a public health approach for reentry planning.
In April the Hawai'i'i state legislature passed SCR192 requesting state department of public safety (PSD) to assist with the delivery of Huikahi Restorative Circles in state prisons. Current PSD administrators do not understand the nature of the program, which thankfully the legislature does. We will continue our efforts aimed at educating PSD and look forward to new administration next year.
March 2010
Rebecca Greening, 3rd year law student from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston came to Hawai'i and worked with Lorenn for three months. She assisted in a number of projects including helping organize March 31st Restorative Celebration held at the Hawai'i Supreme. The pilot project is based on research by professors Shadd Maruna in Ireland, and John Braithwaite in Australia, who are providing oversight of the project. Over 50 people including judges, top Honolulu police chiefs, parole board member, substance abuse treatment counselors, state attorney, and loved ones of the parolees helped celebrate the hard work the parolees put into being successfully discharged from parole between January - March 2010 in Hawai'i.
A special Pioneer of Restorative Justice Award was given to Russ Takaki for his work at parolee board chief in 1973 when Hawai'i has the lowest recidivism in the U.S. The award was accepted by George Downing and Wally Forseith on behalf of Russ, who is 92 now and has some medical problems, who are his dear friends. It was a moving event with a lot of tears of joy. Everyone sat in a large circle and said whatever they wanted to the people getting off parole and the parolees said whatever they wanted to say. It was held between 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., featured beautiful Hawaiian music by Norman & Rose Yamaoka, delicious food & punch, and cake. We plan to do another one in the fall 2010. And one or two with probationers in Judge Steven Alm's court this year.
February 2010
Adriana Uken visited Hawai'i for two weeks and provided training on using solution-focused skills with domestic violence cases. She also observed Huikahi Restorative Circles in prison and provide input on the program.
December 2009
Lorenn's paper on the Modified Restorative Circle program for incarcerated people whose loved ones are unable or unwilling to come to the prison, Modified restorative circles: a reintegration group planning process that promotes desistance, Contemporary Justice Review, Vol. 12, No. 4, December 2009, 419-43, is published by Routledge.
Lorenn also spent time with the amazing Carrisa Phelps www.carissaproject.com who is working on an inspirational memoir to be published in 2010 by Viking, and Joe Patane www.joesworld.org who provides wonderful opportunities for at-risk youth. Carissa and Joe ran with Lorenn in the xterra world championship trail run at Kualoa ranch on O'ahu where Lorenn won her age group and almost 2/3 of the women who competed despite being one of the two oldest women in the half marathon. "I was lucky none of the other fast women in my age group entered--there are some super fast 57 year olds out there!" said Lorenn.
November 2009
Lorenn met with Leah Green of The Compassionate Listening Project (www.compassionatelistening.org) who visited O'ahu. See photos & videos page for a picture.
The fiftith (50th) Restorative Circle was held November 13, 2009 (http://www.uscourts.gov/fedprob/June_2006/circles.html). Almost 300 people have attended Restorative Circles for incarcerated loved ones who address reconciliation and making a reentry plan and 100% of the participants, which also include prison staff, report the process is positive!
In November Lorenn also continues working on her book Aging With Strength and hopes to get it to the publisher by December 2009.
October 2009
Lorenn's article, Restorative Circles: Helping Imprisoned People & Loved Ones Meet Their Needs, is published October 2009, by the Correctional Service of Canada (http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rj/rj2009/kit-eng.shtml) and is on her articles webpage.
Lorenn completed her 11th Xterra World Championship on Maui Sunday October 26, 2009. Lorenn is the only Xterra competitor to place in the top three of her age group for 11 years in a row at the World Championships. This year's race was very voggy (no trade winds so poor air quality with volcanic residue in it called vog). She got third place again and beat by better competitors Cindi Topel from Colorado and Kiwi Sharon Prutton.
View Overall Results.
Finnish psychiatrist Ben Furman and Lorenn unveiled their new free program to write customized apology letters this month. Please check out: www.apologyletter.org and send any comments about the program and letter to Ben or Lorenn.
June 2009
Continue providing Restorative Circles, working on funding sources for them and getting them institutionalized in Hawaii. Sadly we can only provide a small fraction of the Circles that people in prison apply for.
Appeared on a television program with state legislator Cindy Evans, and group of people who participated in our Restorative Circle Program It was a moving experience where we did a mock Circle and could feel its power regardless of it only being a role-play. Reconciliation does not have to mean a renewed and continued relationship, it can simply be coming to terms with what happened and making a plan for repairing the harm. The video can be viewed at: www.vimeo.com/6673308
Continue provided home based services in the development and design of a pilot project for the Honolulu Family Court and youth charged with status offenses, based on restorative justice and solution-focused principals. Dawn Slaten, Esq., an experienced family court lawyer who helped develope 'Ohana Conferencing is assisting with the project that ends this fall.
May 2009
Went to Maui to help start a Share the Care group for some wonderful people whose child has been battling cancer for two years. Check out the Share the Care program for setting up a volunteer community group to help when serious illness or an accident occurs.
Finished a 12-week training course for incarcerated men at Waiawa Correctional Facility on O'ahu. 20 men completed the course that Diane Stowell a great family therapist (and a world class swimmer) helped me provide. To read more about the training which teaches facilitation, emotional intelligence and solution-focused problem solving, please see our paper The Gift of Listening for Hawai'i Inmates,Walker & Sakai, Corrections Today, December 2006.
April 2009
Three and a half weeks in Italy, Spain, and the UK. Continued working on a comparative analysis of Italian youth offender prisons. Visited ancient prisons in Spain and Italy and modern ones in the UK, including Cornton Vale, a woman's prison and Young Offenders Institution Polmont in Scotland. Met some great researchers and academics too, including Shadd Maruna, at a meeting about Community Sanctions in Europe at Glasgow University. Also visit the SORI program Barbara Tudor developed in England and visited prisons there. For more on SORI here is something by Marian Liebmann from Restorative Justice: How it works In Bridges of Allan, location of Cornton Vale Prison, met with Margaret McCathie a therapist using laughter as the main approach. She has traveled and worked with American Dr. Patch Adams She had a great Bed & Breakfast in Bridges of Alan in Scotland More about Margaret's work at: http://www.ofspirit.com/margaretmccathie1.htm
February & March 2009
Conducted an intensive four-day workshop on Solution-Focused Practices for Outreach Workers. Trained a wonderful group of people in Honolulu with the assistance of my friend and colleague Sophia Hoskins, a family therapist. Not only is Sophia a skilled therapist, she is an excellent mountain biker! Insoo Kim Berg would have loved the positive results that the trainees, and Sophia and I also experienced, from this training, which was sponsored by the Hawaii state Office of Youth Services (OYS). We also enjoyed and appreciated working with Dixie Thompson of OYS in providing the training. Dixie is a great organizer and administrator who smiles and laughs all the while doing tedious paper work - she is a fabulous example of someone who applies a solution-focused approach to bureaucracy!
January 2009
Lorenn begins design of an experimental restorative justice and solution-focused group process for status offense classified youth in collaboration with the Family Court in Honolulu which is being funded by Okamura Family Fund. And hopefully projects that John Braithwaite and Shadd Maruna will provide advice and guidance on for people on parole and probation will begin early 2009.
December 2008
December 11, 2008 Lorenn wraps up a semester of teaching communication full time for the University of Hawai'i Honolulu Community College at the Pearl Harbor Navel Shipyard. She also provides a training on inspiration for Epic 'Ohana Conferencing at its annual board of director's meeting.
December 7, 2008 Lorenn ran the half-marathon Xterra World Championship trail run at Kualoa Ranch on O'ahu, winning her age group - "I should have never moved my office for two days right before the race. I really bonked!" she says.
November 2008
orenn developed and guided a tour of Korean social work delegates who were sponsored by Samsung to learn about strength-based programs on O'ahu. For more details check out this pdf.
October 2008
Lorenn competed in her 10 Xterra World Championship race on Maui placing third in her age division. "It was great doing the race with my daughter Sam this year! And she wants to do it again next year too. I am so happy to have her for a training partner," she says.
September 2008
September 11, 2008: Lorenn spends the day touring the amazing San Patrignano addiction treatment community in Rimini, Italy. See Lorenn's blog for more information.
September 9 - 10: Lorenn visits a youth correctional facility in Torino, Italy (an article about her visit will be published in a few months).
September 1 - 5 , 2008 Lusanne, Switzerland, Lorenn provided conflict management training
for women who administer sporting events (mainly Olympic Committees from over 50 different countries).
For more information please see Lorenn's blog.
Visit article on training:
link
June 2008
June 14 - 30 Lorenn travels to Indonesia where she hopes to visit prisons in Java and Bali and learn more about the justice system there
May 2008
May 28 - April 17, 2008: Lorenn visited Aoteroa (New Zealand). She met with many wonderful people involved with restorative justice including Gabrielle Maxwell, Matt Hakiaha, Judge David Carruthers, Anne Hayden, Judge Carolyn Henwood, Marie Connolly, Judge Stan Thorburn and the amazing June Jackson who is head of Auckland's Njawhare Waatea Marae. June and her friends have built a wonderful community at the Marae - it was truly inspirational. Lorenn also visited prisons in Auckland and Treatham (near Wellington) and observed a Youth Court in Wellington. She also gave a talk at Victoria University Law School. After the business part of her trip she enjoyed some excellent mountain biking in Rotorua!
April 2008
On April 12, 2008 Lorenn placed first in the Xterra New Zealand Rotorua in the 55 - 59 women age group! link. She says: "The Kiwis are tough and don't let age stop them from being fit and going for it. The single track in Rotorua is super fun and it's one of the most beautiful places on the planet for sure!""
January 2008
January 17, 2008: Lorenn meets with Immaclee Ilibaqiza, Rwandan genocide survivor and author of Left to Tell, along with Vi Jones-Meduskey, surfer, triathlete and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS aka "Lou Gehrig's disease") survivor, in Honolulu.
Lorenn continues her corrections research in foreign countries. In 2007 she visited three prisons in Spain. Photos are posted in Photo Gallery.
Restorative justive videos are posted in Photo Gallery.
Lorenn placed second in the Xterra World Championships in the 55-59 women age group! She says, "It was a fun race!" 2008 will be Lorenn's tenth year to compete in the Xterra World Championships.
Events
Introduction to Solution-Focused Problem Solving Workshop, September 9; September 23; October 7; and October 21, 2006
European conference presentations
July 2007 Barcelona, Spain: Conducted a restorative justice workshop.
March 24, 2006 Amsterdam, Netherlands: "To Teach is to Learn Twice" International Solution Focused Trainer's Conference Presenting on: Restorative Justice Planning Circles: Inmate Facilitator Training in Hawaii Prisons For more information: www.solutions-centre.org
March 30, 2006 London, England: Restorative Justice in Action… into the Mainstream. The 3rd International Winchester Restorative Justice Group Conference Presenting on: RJ in Prisons - an International Perspective For more information: www.neilstewartassociates.com
Awards
2005 Rhoda Lewis Award by the Hawaii Women's Legal Foundation for a lawyer who exhibits outstanding public service
2005 Hero of Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Peace by the Hawaii Forgiveness Project www.hawaiiforgivenessproject.org/heroes05.htm
Journal Reviewer
2006 submission reviewer for the new journal: Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice: A Professional Journal
Weather, Temperature & Time
