Restorative Approach Training in Yukon Territory, Canada

I have just returned from a trip to aw hitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. What a delightful place! It is beautiful, and the people are kind, caring and compassionate.  Of course they also pride themselves on being a little crazy, especially when it comes to extreme sports and pastimes. The Yukon Government has initiated a system wide implementation of Risking Connection and the Restorative Approach. They started with their residential and in home mental health services and their drug and alcohol treatment program. Soon to come are foster care, juvenile justice and protective services. The people in the system are deeply committed to understanding behavior as adaptive. They work creatively with a lack of resources and long standing, multigenerational trauma and economic stress.

I taught a two day Restorative Approach training, newly revised and based on my book. I taught in a museum of Yukon history. The suggestions for improvement that I received concerned making it more locally focused and culturally relevant.  Also, a couple of people suggested that I include more tips for how line staff can facilitate the change to Trauma Informed Care and influence their team mates. Good ideas.

Here are some of the comments I received on the training:

• Knowledgable speaker 
• Reinforced that Child care is treatment
• Provided Useful strategies and Resources
• Great content, good philosophy
• Interesting and practical
• Good tools for working with youth
• Instructor was knowledgable and had the ability to talk through dilemmas and utilize the theory
• People felt comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas
• Training was wonderful
• Wealth of knowledge, ease in delivery, good examples
• You have been there and know our struggles
• Liked info on pulling the team together
• The whole two days were organized and flowed well
• I feel I have a better understanding and will be able to talk to my co-workers differently
• You took the mystery out of making amends and restorative tasks
• Can't think of any way to improve, it was great
• Having language and recognition for what we do
• Very important model
• Great training!
• Pat you area great teacher- caring, respectful, and on task. Just what group workers need. Good balance of academic and personal information. A lot of practical applications.

Could your agency use this training?

We got to visit two museums and an art gallery, and we swam in a hot springs. Much thanks to our host Mike Healy who made our trip both useful and enjoyable. Our travels went smoothly
until the last leg, from Montreal back to Hartford, was cancelled. We ended up driving back from Montreal.

We both made friends with the Police manequin in our hotel lobby.

Altogether a very satisfying trip.