Headquartered in Minneapolis, the Legal Rights Center works with communities to seek justice and promote racial equity for those to whom it has been historically denied. In addition to being a legal services nonprofit, the organization creates spaces where harm is acknowledged, accountability is taken, and healing becomes possible, nurturing relationships and trust that strengthen the social fabric of the Twin Cities.
The Mortenson Family Foundation has supported LRC in 2024 and recently awarded a multi-year grant for 2025 and 2026 to the organization’s Restorative Justice Program. This initiative focuses on disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline and keeping youth out of the criminal legal system whenever possible by equipping schools and communities with the tools to respond constructively–and restoratively–to conflict. It serves as a model for reshaping how communities respond to harm and build equity from the ground up.
Creating Space for Restorative Justice
Systemic inequities have fueled a school-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately affects Black, Indigenous, and students of color. LRC’s Restorative Justice Program (RJP) works with Minneapolis Public Schools, Saint Paul Public Schools, and Robbinsdale Area Schools, and partners with the Minneapolis Police Department and the Hennepin and Ramsey County Attorney’s Offices to receive referrals for juvenile diversion and truancy cases.
When a student is involved in a serious disciplinary incident, LRC’s team works to build support and accountability through the facilitation of Family Group Conferences (FGCs) to constructively address conflicts. This structured process with FGCs convenes students, families, school staff, and other supportive adults in the student’s life. Guided by a neutral LRC facilitator, participants work together to acknowledge the harm in the incident, restore relationships, and co-create a strengths-based accountability plan tailored to the student. The plan includes individualized goals and evaluation metrics to support academic, social, and emotional success and wellbeing of students.
After the FGC, LRC staff follow up with students and families to ensure progress and reinforce positive connections. The strengths, dignity, and humanity of young people are centered at every step of a restorative process, grounded in LRC’s belief that young people thrive in school–academically, socially, and emotionally–when they are well-connected with peers and supportive adults.
“We know that young people are best supported to succeed when they are wrapped with a network of supportive relationships,” says Malaika Eban, LRC’s Executive Director. “Rather than responding punitively, which only reinforces relational breakdown, we lean into relationships as the avenue through which to repair harm and hold meaningful accountability.”
Restorative processes are highly participatory, requiring voluntary participation of youth, families, educators, and other connected adults. While LRC’s program follows an evidence-based, structured process that has been proven effective to restore relationships and support youth in achieving academic success, there is not a prescriptive approach for how to engage with each youth referred. The process is actively and voluntarily guided by the young person, with input and support from others involved. The RJP’s approach is both intentionally youth-centered and strengths-affirming, as LRC believes that young people know themselves, their experiences, and their goals best.
In the 2024 fiscal year, LRC provided 85 restorative interventions, engaging 375 youth and 65 of their family members. The organization also worked with more than 900 educators through its complementary capacity building and professional development programming. During the 2025-2026 school year, LRC anticipates it will facilitate more than 125 restorative interventions, reaching about 300 youth and families in the Twin Cities.
LRC also works to evaluate its larger, systemic impact through contracts with partnering school districts. The organization monitors each district’s strategic goals and priorities related to racial equity and restorative practices implementation, analyzing district-level trends in suspension, expulsion, transfer, and other related data. This information helps the schools understand their progress in disrupting and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline within the Twin Cities.
LRC’s Impacts Across the Twin Cities
LRC’s impact extends far beyond school walls. Beyond the Restorative Justice Program’s FGCs, the organization regularly facilitates Circles to Repair Harm, Community Building Circles, and Restorative Dialogues to create structured spaces for dialogue, accountability, and healing. Circles to Repair Harm allow community members to address conflicts in ways that honor the experiences of both those harmed and those responsible to foster a culture of mutual respect. Community Building Circles strengthen connections among neighbors, while Restorative Dialogues provide opportunities for open conversation around interpersonal needs
“Restorative practices empower young people and all others in our community to be in deep and true relationship with one another,” says Samara Eltahir, LRC’s Director of Strategic Initiatives. “Our approach is inherently intergenerational, which we know strengthens the fabric of neighborhoods and communities at large.”
These layered practices allow LRC to weave restorative principles into our neighborhoods and schools. They allow young people who once felt alienated by school discipline to serve as peer mentors and neighbors who once clashed over community issues to collaborate. By consistently centering empathy, accountability, and relationship-building, LRC cultivates communities that are resilient, inclusive, and empowered.
“Accountability without trust and empathy becomes punitive, and punitive practices in school systems have caused real harm,” says Rabya Hassen, Community Relationship Officer at the Mortenson Family Foundation. “The Restorative Justice Program creates opportunities for accountability grounded in trust, empathy, and repair. This approach fosters a school environment where young people are centered, safe, and seen so they can focus on their educational goals.”
Looking Ahead
LRC exemplifies how restorative justice can transform schools, neighborhoods, and communities. Looking ahead, LRC plans to bring its restorative practices to more schools, train partner organizations, and scale its impact across the Twin Cities.
With ongoing support, LRC continues to model how communities can address harm constructively, nurture relationships, and build a stronger, more just future for all residents.
“True transformation–of our systems, our mindsets, and our deeply punitive culture–will take commitment from all of us,” says Malaika Eban. “We’re in it for the long haul, and we invite you to join us.”
