Reflection by Rob Bywater, 2026 Master of Social Work Intern
1. Circles have magical powers.
They do! In staff meetings, in meetings with clients, at Soup & Circles—something strange and (often) wonderful happens. You can see everyone’s face; you can feel everyone’s presence. There’s no exit row; even if you don’t speak, you’re somehow accountable and included. The shape you make together feels ancient (because it is) and familiar—intuitively right. Even when something wonderful doesn’t happen—even when the meeting is tense or the mood is sour or the result feels like failure—the form of the circle remains. You can always return to it; it will always be there for you; it invites you to try again.
2. Trust the process.
Every staff meeting starts the same way: with an opening round in which each member responds to a prompt—usually unrelated to work—given by the facilitator. And every restorative circle follows a loose (but very real!) script, built around the five restorative questions. At first these steps felt stiff, rote. But I came to see them as foundational to the process. In staff meetings, I came to know my colleagues not as employees but as people—people with rich and varied lives, people who came to different meetings in different moods, with different needs. In restorative circles, the five questions came to feel reliable and reassuring and occasionally revelatory, like breathing during meditation.
3. Restorative work is community work.
If restorative justice looks like “experts” dropping into a community and leading circles—then it’s not restorative justice. Restorative justice belongs to the community, because it’s a way for the community to heal itself. This is why our offices and staff members are rooted in their communities. And this is why local volunteers (who serve as mentors, co-facilitators, and more) are essential to the work of RJP.
4. Vulnerability is an invitation.
Norman taught me this. In the circles he runs at the Re-Entry Center—and in his facilitation of monthly Soup & Circles in Belfast—he tries to be as open and vulnerable as possible. By doing that, he earns the trust of the circle—and he invites other members to be open and vulnerable in their own way.
5. The work begins with you.
In some obvious ways, restorative work is grounded in group dynamics, shared values, collective wisdom. It’s communal healing in response to communal harm. But it begins with the self: self-reflection, self-understanding. You have to assess—candidly, rigorously—your own strengths and weaknesses, your own capacities and areas of curiosity. Only then will you be ready to arrive in a circle as your full, imperfect self—which is what the circle demands. (Fun side note: This rule also applies in personal relationships. If you want to be a good friend or partner or colleague, you need to understand what you’re bringing into the relationship. In other words: You need to know yourself to be yourself.)
Rob Bywater is completing a master’s degree in social work at the University of Maine. He lives in Belfast, where he performs with the Maskers, makes collages from old magazines, and makes poems from Missed Connections on Craigslist.