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Not Just Numbers: How Mercer County Investment in Restorative Justice Will Change Lives | Tap Into
Published July 31, 2026 at 11:10 AM
Last updated July 31, 2026 at 11:10 AM
MERCER COUNTY, NJ - "Ms., I won't be alive to care about that stuff."
It's a sentence Coleta Walker has heard more than once from teenagers at Mercer County's Restorative Justice Hub when conversations turn to college, careers, or adulthood.
For Walker, director of the Restorative Justice Hub, changing that mindset is the first step toward changing a life.
"When someone believes their life will be cut short, it's almost impossible to plan for the future," Walker said. "The first step is helping them believe they have a future worth living for."
That starts, she said, by listening.
"I begin by meeting young people where they are, not lecturing but listening," Walker said. "A lot of the kids we work with have seen friends and family die young."
That philosophy is at the heart of Mercer County's decision to award Salvation and Social Justice (SandSJ), a Trenton-based nonprofit, a $500,000 annual grant for a two-year pilot program to operate the Restorative Justice Hub. The funding will allow the organization to expand partnerships with families, schools and community organizations while connecting more at-risk youth throughout Mercer County with mentorship, resources and nonviolent conflict resolution.
Under SandSJ, the Hub will continue focusing on addressing the root causes of crime, including poverty and trauma, emphasizing prevention rather than punishment.
Unlike traditional approaches that often begin with punishment, restorative justice begins with questions, Walker explained to TAPinto.
What happened? Who was harmed? Why did it happen? And what support does a young person need to keep it from happening again?
Walker said answering those questions means looking beyond a single incident and addressing the conditions that often lead to it.
"Addressing root causes means looking beyond the incident to the reasons it happened and working to fix those conditions," she said.
That can include connecting young people to counseling, housing support, educational and employment opportunities while also emphasizing accountability by helping them understand and repair the harm they have caused.
"So rather than only assigning a punishment and moving on, we ask: what led to this incident, who was harmed and how? And what concrete supports does the young person need so this doesn't happen again?" Walker said.
Mercer County Executive Dan Benson said investing in young people before they become further involved in the justice system benefits the entire community.
"When we give our young people the tools to improve their lives, everyone wins," Benson said, noting the past success of Pastor Charles Boyer and First Lady Rosalee Boyer of Greater Mount Zion AME Church, who founded Salvation and Social Justice in 2018. "We're excited to partner with this trusted local organization as we take this next step forward for the Restorative Justice Hub."
For Mercer County Deputy Administrator and Director of Community Services Taraun Tice McKnight, the grant is a way to reverse the disturbing trend of increased numbers of youth charged with serious crimes at younger ages, underscoring the need to intervene early.
"We need to step up as a County and a community to intervene early in their lives and provide the skills, mentorship, and resources that will help them find a better path," McKnight said.
Rev. Boyer said the county's investment reflects a belief that prevention is both more effective and less costly than incarceration.
"New Jersey taxpayers currently spend about $600,000 each year for each young person who we incarcerate," Boyer said. "For less than that, Mercer County is investing in a program that will serve hundreds of youth, prevent crime, and bring resources to our community rather than to the prison-industrial complex."
The impact of restorative justice isn't always reflected in crime statistics, Walker believes.
Instead, she sees it in the young people who return years later with stories of lives they once never imagined for themselves.
"Success often shows up quietly and years later," Walker said. "Numbers won't capture the kid who came back to the Hub with their own child to tell us they finished school and have a steady job."
She also points to the young person who apologized to someone they had harmed before going on to mentor another youth, or the teenager who once believed they would never reach adulthood but later began applying to college, holding a steady job or taking responsibility for their family.
"Those stories, the returned visits, the life milestones, the repaired relationships, are the proof that restorative work changes lives even when it can't be measured on a chart."
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