For years, we have been known as the Transformative Justice Institute. As our work has grown and deepened, our new name is Harm to Healing Collaborative.
Justice Rooted in Healing
Harm to Healing Collaborative transforms harm and conflict into opportunities for accountability, healing, and lasting change — restoring relationships, rebuilding communities, and reimagining justice.
What We Do
We facilitate restorative justice dialogues, circles, and structured programs for individuals and groups who have been harmed and those who have caused harm. We also offer these services to prevent harm before it occurs and reduce future harm. In community and in-custody settings, we bring people together through guided processes led by trained professionals and those with lived experience. We also offer trainings to teach individuals and organizations how to facilitate restorative justice dialogues, circles, and structured programs and build the skills needed to run them effectively. Additionally, we provide services to resolve workplace and housing conflicts and build positive culture.
We believe harm is best addressed not through punishment and isolation, but through processes that foster accountability, honesty, and repair. We create space for people harmed to be heard and for those responsible to be accountable and make amends. Through proven practices, we support meaningful repair, healing, dignity, and reintegration for everyone involved.
Mission
Our mission is to transform the way communities respond to harm by focusing on accountability, repair, and healing.
Vision
We aspire to create a world where justice is measured by healing rather than punishment and communities have the courage and resources to address harm without creating more harm.
Our Two Focus Areas
Community Justice Services
We bring restorative approaches to real-world community challenges and harm through facilitated dialogues and circles. We address harm ranging from neighborhood tension to life-altering situations.
Justice-System Programs
We run structured programs that work alongside justice-system partners to support victim-centered, accountability-driven alternatives that strengthen repair, safety, dignity, and reintegration, including work rooted at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQRC).
How We Deliver Our Work
Dialogues & Circles
Facilitated conversations and circles that help people address harm, understand impact, and create concrete plans for accountability and repair. This work has a dynamic process and open-ended time frame.
Our Philosophy
We believe that human beings are capable of far more than the harm they cause or endure. At the heart of our work is a deep trust in human kindness, dignity, and potential. Restorative justice begins with the understanding that people are capable of accountability, empathy, and meaningful change when they are met with honesty, care, and community support. Restorative practices invite people to reconnect with their humanity and with one another.
By addressing harm at its roots through truth-telling, accountability, and repair, our work can produce outcomes that punishment often does not: meaningful amends, restored dignity, stronger relationships, and safer pathways forward.
Why Our Approach Works
Restorative approaches work when they are structured, well-facilitated, and used where they fit. Our work is designed to support outcomes that matter to communities, survivors, people who have caused harm, and public-safety partners. Our approach works because:
- We address the real impacts of harm and conflict vs just the rule violation by understanding root causes and what is needed by all involved in order to feel restored
- We create meaningful accountability and take action to repair what has been broken, fostering humanity, dignity and ownership
- We give voice and agency to those impacted vs sidelining those who have been harmed
- We build empathy and connection (emotional intelligence) by shifting perspectives and increasing emotional awareness
- We focus on repair, not just punishment – repair tailored to the actual harm
- We strengthen community by involving them as necessary
- We reduce repeat harm or cycles of harm because we address root causes – like unmet needs, historical trauma and disconnection vs just imposing consequences
What We Don’t Do
- We don’t excuse harm or help people avoid accountability. Restorative justice is not “no consequences” — it’s a structured process that requires honesty, responsibility, and follow-through.
- We don’t pressure anyone to participate, forgive, or reconcile. People who have been harmed always have voice and choice, and reconciliation is never guaranteed or required.
- We don’t replace legal counsel, clinical treatment, or emergency safety responses. We work alongside existing systems and supports, and we pause or refer out when a restorative process isn’t a fit.
Need Help?
Whether you’re looking for facilitated dialogue, training, or program partnership, we’ll help you assess what’s appropriate and design a process that supports accountability, repair, safety, and dignity.