All About Diversion
We asked Allie (she/her), CHOOSE 180’s
Diversion Workshop Coordinator, all about our court diversion workshops.
Check out her responses below and hear all about the past in-person workshop, and the future of in-person workshops at CHOOSE 180.
1. What inspired the return to in-person workshops?
Our goal and reason behind bringing back the in-person court diversion workshops is to reconnect with the community and our young people in real life, face-to-face ways. This is a throwback to how we used to engage our community to create palpable connections and lasting positive impacts on our young people. I personally was creating great relationships with diversion participants in our one-on-one format, but they didn’t have as many opportunities to connect with their peers in this program since 2020.
These in-person workshops will create a deeper sense of community specifically for diversion participants, who from 2020 up until March of this year, only had the ability to complete the workshop one-on-one. There is power in collective, shared experiences, and in the power of story. Many people who attended these workshops before Covid shared that the opportunity was impactful beyond just their legal case. In a group setting, sharing personal experiences with others who have similar challenges or experiences can help young people:
Self-reflect
Develop empathy
Find mutual understanding
Learn positive coping strategies
The power of story and shared experience help cultivate positive connection and community, which reduces isolation. At CHOOSE 180, we provide space for young people to learn from each other and their choices. Being in a group setting also helps our participants feel less alone as they realize they are not the only ones experiencing what they are going through or feeling a certain way. Getting to share space and building community feels a lot different when everyone is together in-person, and we already witnessed how powerful that can be during the first in-person workshop last month!
2. What is the format of in-person workshops?
The format of in-person workshops are still being finalized as we have only done one since 2020, and we want to make it responsive to our participants’ needs and what feels best!
We start with check-ins and introductions for everyone, staff and participants, in the room. We discuss group norms, and go over expectations for the day. We then move to our staff/volunteers sharing about their “180s”, how these folks who maybe started on a challenging or negative path have been able to make a “180” by making more positive choices.
We remind participants that we are each more than the worst thing we have done, and the best we can do is learn from our past, to create a more positive future for ourselves. We ask anyone in the room, participants, staff, and volunteers alike, if they relate to a story that is shared to come up and grab a beaded necklace. At the end of the workshop, you’ll see others in the room wearing similar beads, it shows our participants that a lot of us have similar experiences.
After sharing we start working through our Compass Curriculum. Through this curriculum we help young people:
identify current and future goals
areas of support
reflect on decision-making patterns
taking personal accountability
identifying positive supports to embrace & negative influences to leave behind or minimize
Throughout the curriculum portion we allow people to work independently with the option of sharing out in the group setting. At the end of our time participants:
have time to journal and start drafting their own “180” story
or any take-aways from the workshop.
fill out post-surveys about their experiences
learn more about the other programs we offer at CHOOSE 180
We connect participants with programs on the spot or the following week based on their interest.
We invite participants to remove their beads and share that we don’t have to let our past weigh us down. We have permission to move forward, we don’t have to let our experiences define us and we can learn from them.
3. How did workshop participants respond to the workshop?
Of course this is hard to answer, and I don’t want to speak for the young people that were present, but all of the folks in attendance seemed to really enjoy the workshop in the group setting. Participants seemed to identify with, and be deeply impacted by, our staff and volunteers who shared their stories and seemed to enjoy reflecting on their own goals. Young people created dialogue between themselves by sharing about their goals, insights and reflections.
4. Will the in-person workshops continue?
Yes! In-person workshops will continue throughout 2026 every other month (May, July, Sept, Nov), and next year we hope to continue them and possibly be able to offer them every month.
5. What are the benefits of diversion for young people?
Our diversion program offers young people an alternative to incarceration and/or further court involvement. Young people are either able to get their cases declined (does not go on their record at all), or dismissed, depending at what point they are referred (pre-file or post-file). We work to keep them out of the criminal legal system, as we know having a charge only increases the likelihood of involvement with this system in the future. We know that this system negatively impacts people by creating barriers, trauma, and disrupting a young person's pathway to success. Our diversion program helps young people commit to positive change and connects them to community and resources that empower them to thrive.
We understand that when folks are having touch points with the criminal legal system, it is often because their basic needs are not being met. We also know that this system disproportionately affects black and brown communities. Young people are trying to survive and are vulnerable, and oftentimes this results in contact with police, followed by the courts. At CHOOSE 180 we are here to meet people where they are and help them get their needs, wants, hopes, and dreams met. We want to see them win and find their positive path.
We know that young people are the experts on their own lives and have the drive and tools inside themselves to flourish. Our staff and programs support young people in pulling out these tools and honing their skills to achieve this. Diversion allows young people to move forward on their positive path through reflection and accountability, and allows each young person to define their own success and goals.
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