Restorative Justice Program
Birmingham Municipal Court – Church of the Reconciler

Church of the Reconciler in Birmingham is working with Judge Raymond Chambliss of the Birmingham Municipal Court to give members of the homeless community in downtown Birmingham the opportunity to remove fines they owe and remove warrants held against them with community service.

Persons with these obligations to the city court are caught in a double bind. They owe fines they cannot pay and warrants they cannot remove because they have no money. They cannot work to earn the money because they have fines and warrants. Most employers don’t hire people with criminal justice obligations. The end result is that they are caught in homelessness.

The restorative justice program at Church of the Reconciler gives homeless persons the opportunity to remove their warrants and fines through community service. The homeless persons participate in the program by signing a form that is notarized to give the municipal court the authority to run a background check. If the participant has no other obligation to any other criminal justice system the municipal court may select them as a candidate for the program. If selected the candidate is given a court date for the judge to prescribe the community service required for their situation. All candidates will be required to participate in a random drug-testing program to insure that they remain drug free as the community service is carried out.

The required community service will be carried out at the Church of the Reconciler Day Program for the homeless or other setting. Mr. Grant Hiatt, a volunteer at Church of the Reconciler and a Notary Public serves as the volunteer administrator for the program.

To date there are 92 homeless persons who have signed up for the program and 22 are providing community service.


R. Lawton Higgs, Sr.
Pastor
Church of the Reconciler
06/02/05