Why me? published their first Friday bulletin on 27 March in response to the COVID19 pandemic. They wrote:

Restorative providers across the country are facing similar challenges. We hope that this weekly bulletin during the COVID19 crisis can help to give some clarity on how this crisis will affect Restorative Justice providers and other organisations involved with victim support.

They have organised an online seminar with 25 Restorative Justice professionals across the country to discuss how services are adapting to the COVID19 pandemic.

The key points which we covered were:

• What we can achieve by using technology to continue working remotely. Some people said that the quality of their IT was causing problems, while others felt theirs was satisfactory.
• The significant challenges of working with prisons in these circumstances.
• The importance of keeping in contact with participants to check that they are safe and to reassure them that they’ve not been forgotten.
• How to keep referrals progressing throughout this period where possible.
• The importance of being honest with participants about when it isn’t possible to progress a case due to the circumstances.