Mend Collaborative

Mend Collaborative was formed by co-directors Rebecca Weiker and Miguel Quezada, two individuals with firsthand experience with the justice system. Rebecca, a survivor of harm and a long-standing advocate in the survivor community, invited Miguel, a formerly incarcerated facilitator, to co-facilitate a victim-offender dialogue. Together, they discovered the power of partnership from their distinct life experiences to bring a wealth of wisdom, expertise, integrity, and credibility to the work of healing and restoration.  

Mend Collaborative offers several support services for the community.  During the Day of Healing, Mend Collaborative offers survivors from the community and those incarcerated to join together to share and process experiences of grief, loss, harm, and resilience, participating in healing activities throughout the day. Victim Offender Dialogues (VODS) between persons who harmed and who were harmed, and Surrogate Dialogues between survivors of harm and a surrogate for the person causing harm are facilitated by Mend Collaborative staff in federal prisons and communities throughout California. Through the Day of Healing and the dialogue process, survivors and offenders can lead by example and demonstrate the potential to collaborate and heal while supporting survivors of harm.