Vision

The Western Justice Center Foundation envisions a society in which conflicts are transformed into opportunities for learning and growth.

Mission

The mission of the Western Justice Center Foundation is to increase the opportunity for peaceful conflict resolution and displace the power of violence in our society. We design, implement, evaluate and promote innovative methods of conflict prevention and resolution for children, communities and courts.

From the Executive Director

Peace-building is defined by Boutros Boutros-Ghali as the "action to identify and support structures which will tend to strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into conflict." This is the essential work of the Western Justice Center Foundation and the vision of our founder and Chair,
Hon. Dorothy W. Nelson which remains central to our mission and current programs.

The Western Justice Center does more than make peace between people and communities. We seek to transform the ways that institutions deal with conflict to create cultures of peace within schools, communities, courts and government agencies. Each endeavor of the organization is focused on the first step of peace-building: Identification of the sources of conflict. Second, the Western Justice Center creates collaborations and offers technical assistance to create a systemic approach to preventing future conflict. Finally, the results of the project are evaluated by a third party and distributed to others so that the impact of the project will be far greater than the one school, community or government partner.

Our mission is to build infrastructures for peace. The Western Justice Center starts with the youngest children, from birth throughout the span of life. There is a dire need for a holistic approach to conflict prevention and resolution. The World Health Organization identifies violence as one of the most serious global health risks. Children, community members, police officers, judges and all segments of our society benefit from the ability to practice conflict resolution skills. We ask you to join us in this process.

The Western Justice Center Foundation will continue to seek the most serious and complex conflicts that affect children, adults and social institutions. Simply put: We wish to displace the power of violence as it affects the most vulnerable population - our children - and create better options for all of us so we can choose peace instead of conflict.