We are not always afforded a second chance, but juvenile criminal offenders have a shot at one through Chattanooga’s Victim Offender Reconciliation Program.
“We all have to learn things,” said VORP Chattanooga Executive Director Jennifer Paden. “We don’t all have the advantage of having parental guidance.”
Van Colucci, Jennifer Paden and Janet Perfetti, from left, are not only employees of Chattanooga’s Victim Offender Reconciliation Program, they are also proponents.VORP provides the opportunity for the offender and victim to meet face-to-face over the dealings of a crime, often a misdemeanor theft less than $500, as long as the offender does not have a history of addictions or weapon usage.
The victim realizes the minor is not some beastly imagined character, while the offender learns how negative behavior affects the other person, Paden said.
East Brainerd resident Janet Perfetti has personally seen this mutual understanding occur many times. She uses her family-mediator background as a VORP facilitator.