They are willing to work for a basic stipend with the knowledge that income can be sourced from project management, research contracts, public awareness campaigns for various government departments and though writing Workshop Skills Plans for local businesses.

Restorative Community Workers can do the following:
• Community profiles and baseline research
• Public awareness campaigns
• Basic research
• Facilitate activities for vulnerable groups, such as HIV and AIDS support groups, unemployed youth, income generation and poverty alleviation programmes
• Link community skills to resources
• Access Learnerships for community members
• Disaster management (problem solving) in the broader sense and helping government and communities plan for socio, economic, physical and health disasters. Examples are: HIV and AIDS orphans, ex-combatants, unemployed youth, gangs, political violence, drought, flooding, fires etc
• Monitor the impact of projects and programmes holistically, not overlooking increased levels of literacy, self-esteem and health awareness that accompany income generation
• Build a human rights culture within communities
• Provide information about where and how to access grants and other government programmes and services
• Refer community members in a crisis to relevant resources and provide temporary psychological ‘first-aid’
• Disseminate information with a view to transparency
• Provide relevant information for NPAT to link community needs to available resources.

 

RCW

Restorative Community Workers

NPAT-trained Restorative Community Workers (RCWs) live in under-resourced (mostly rural) areas. They are not just community volunteers, but should rather be seen as community ‘champions’. They are assertive in researching community needs, getting things done and in bringing needed resources into the community.