Normalizing Family Group Conferences in the Netherlands with Hedda van Lieshout

Restorative Works!

Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Hedda van Lieshout, to the Restorative Works! Podcast, World Conference series. This series of conversations were held during the 2023 IIRP World Conference, Building Thriving Communities, A Radical Approach Through Restorative Practices, held in Detroit, MI, October 2-4, 2023.

Hedda speaks with us about the work of Eigen Kracht Centrale and how this organization strives to normalize restorative practices in the lives of all people they come in contact with through restorative conferences. A marker of this work is identifying important people in our lives and recognizing our personal circles of influence and care. This is imperative to building trust and supporting ourselves and our communities. She offers us examples of addressing inter-familial issues by maximizing the positive, instead of only focusing on the problems. Often, the solution can be found within the parts of the family structure that are working and that are already providing positive outcomes in other areas.

Supporting people in their right to make their own decisions is what drives Hedda van Lieshout in her work and life. She has worked in healthcare in Italy and as a researcher for the Dutch Institution of Care and Welfare. Presently, Hedda is managing director at Eigen Kracht Centrale, a national organization in the Netherlands that offers Family Group Conferences and Restorative Conferences to individuals and families across the country. They work within communities and with the government to provide services to families. Eigen Kracht means "one’s own strength/power" and the name emphasizes the idea that people can make their own decisions and plans together with their network of family and friends.

Tune in to learn more about Hedda’s perspective on family and community decision making and Eigen Kracht Centrale’s work in the Netherlands.