About the Community Restorative Centre

Founded in 1951, the Community Restorative Centre (CRC) is the leading community provider of support services to people affected by the criminal justice system in NSW. All CRC programs aim to reduce crime and break entrenched cycles of disadvantage, offending and imprisonment. CRC is public company limited by guarantee and is a registered charity. Download Community Restorative Centre Limited Constitution.

Our Mission

CRC aims to change lives positively by supporting people affected by the criminal justice system. We aim to improve our clients’ quality of life by providing a range of practical and emotional supports, as well as assisting people to build sustainable pathways out of the criminal justice system and into the community.

We aim to reduce crime and the impact of incarceration on individuals and the community through a range of services and targeted projects.

We Assist People on Release From Prison

Life for people leaving prison can be extremely difficult. Many people on release experience problems with housing, employment, finances, loneliness, building social networks, sustaining family relationships and managing drug and alcohol use.

CRC can help people resettle into communities by providing specialist services for people leaving prison that address these problems and work to move people away from the criminal justice system. CRC’s transitional and reintegration services employ skilled and compassionate workers who are able to support people holistically during the often stressful period of transition from prison to the community.

 

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We Assist Families

Families of people in prison often feel that they are serving an invisible sentence. They constitute a unique group in that they exist in a space somewhere in between the prison system and the community, and as a consequence can feel very isolated. Families are often entwined with the police, the courts and Corrective Services, and they frequently spend a considerable amount of time travelling to and from prisons. Families often feel immense shame and stigma because they have a loved one inside and find it difficult to talk to people about what this feels like. Families also often have financial and emotional difficulties that are directly related to the stresses involved in supporting someone in prison. CRC provides expert specialist family support to those who are seeking non-judgemental assistance and advice.

 

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Our Goals

  • Improve the quality of life of people both in prison and on release, and their families
  • Ease the transition to life after prison
  • Assist people to participate in the wider community
  • Increase access to support services
  • Promote health and wellbeing
  • Foster social cohesion
  • Provide quality service and support
  • Create opportunities for our clients to achieve independence

Our Values

  • Ethical service provision
  • Social justice
  • Independent, secular and non-discriminatory service
  • Collaboration with other organisations and the community
  • Innovation and flexibility in building our services
  • Participation of clients and the community in service review and development
  • The skill and diversity of our staff, volunteers, members, and management committee