Conflict resolution could tackle homelessness

Fr Peter McVerry says restorative practices would equip people with skills to resolve conflict

Fr Peter McVerry has encouraged greater use of Restorative Practices as a measure to tackle homelessness at the launch of two restorative Practice reports in Dublin today.   Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire
Fr Peter McVerry has encouraged greater use of Restorative Practices as a measure to tackle homelessness at the launch of two restorative Practice reports in Dublin today. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

A homelessness campaigner has said teaching people to deal with conflict in relationships could reduce the problem.

Fr Peter McVerry was speaking as he launched two reports about a method of relationship building and conflict resolution called "restorative practice" at the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin.

Restorative practice involves training and supporting people working in communities to be better equipped to talk about and resolve conflict. It is focused on restoring relationships that have broken down, rather than on punishment.

He said the measure is more successful than a punitive approach in overcoming relationship problems.

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“Homelessness is often caused by a breakdown in community and family relationships when one party has to leave and has nowhere else to go. Restorative practices can help to equip people with better skills to address these conflicts and avoid the worst outcomes,” Fr McVerry said.

The Restorative Practices Strategic Forum produced the reports, which set out a quality assurance framework for organisations and practitioners and a guide for implementing the method in communities.

Claire Casey, restorative practices programme coordinator at the Childhood Development Initiative, said the organisation has used the approach in its work in Tallaght since 2002.

She said several of the programmes were rigorously evaluated and were “spectacularly successful for improving outcomes for children in Tallaght”.

She hopes the programme will be adopted by schools, youth services, probation services, An Garda Siochana and other community organisations. “The core of how you do a community restorative practice programme is [developing] relationships with a whole range of people,” she said.

Fr McVerry called for a national network of restorative practice centres across the country which could intervene and deliver training and support for communities and families in difficulty.

“Restorative practice should be embedded in the practice of every school, hostel, workplace, family…My dream would be that in every community, you know where to go to find the social worker, public health nurse, doctor, so people know how to find those who can help in dealing with conflict,” he said.