Community Mediation

Community Mediation is a conflict resolution process where you can speak for yourself and make your own choices.  Mediators provide a structured space for you to speak to one another, to hear from one another and to reach a resolution.  In mediation, mediators:

¨ listen as you explain the situation;

¨ promote communication between the participants;

¨ clarify topics for discussion;

¨ guide you through a process to develop solutions; assist you in writing an agreement that will meet the needs of everyone. The mediators will not take sides or assess blame. You control the outcome - no one tells you what to do.

 

Mediation helps people reach agreements, rebuild relationships, and find permanent solutions to their disputes.  Neutral mediators help participants have a difficult conversation, get clear about what's important to everyone, and make decisions that meet the needs of those involved.  Mediation is offered free of charge and is voluntary and confidential.  Services are provided at convenient locations throughout Baltimore County.

 

Who are the Mediators? Mediators are professionally trained volunteers from your community. They are selected to reflect the diversity of Baltimore County. If you are interested in being trained as a mediator, click here.

 

Referrals for Community Mediation can be made at any stage of a dispute or conflict.  Individuals as well as friends and family call the center to request mediation services.  Neighborhood and organizational leaders may refer, as do schools, social services or police.  The CRC receives inquiries and referrals prior to court proceedings as well as afterward.  To access a referral form, click here.

 

Call us at 410-663-7070 to find out whether mediation might be helpful in your situation.  Mediation is useful in a variety of settings, from business, to neighborhoods, to families.

                                                                                                      

The CRC is a member Center of the Community Mediation Maryland (CMM) network of Centers, and subscribes to the 10 points of Community Mediation that were developed by a group of stakeholders throughout the state in collaboration with the Maryland Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO).  For more information about CMM go to www.marylandmediation.org .  The 10 Points that CRC follows are to:

 

1. Train community members who reflect the community's diversity with regard to age, race, gender, ethnicity, income and              education to serve as volunteer mediators

2. Provide mediation services at no cost or on a sliding scale

3. Hold mediations in neighborhoods where disputes occur

4. Schedule mediations at a time and place convenient to the participants

5. Encourage early use of mediation to prevent violence or to reduce the need for court intervention, as well as provide              mediation at any stage in a dispute

6. Mediate community-based disputes that come from referral sources including self-referrals, police, courts, community              organizations, civic groups, religious institutions, government agencies and others

7. Educate community members about conflict resolution and mediation

8. Maintain high quality mediators by providing intensive, skills-based training, apprenticeships, continuing education and              ongoing evaluation of volunteer mediators

9. Work with the community in governing community mediation programs in a manner that is based on collaborative              problem solving among staff, volunteers and community members Provide mediation, education, and potentially              other conflict resolution processes to community members who reflect the community's diversity with regard to age,              race, gender, ethnicity, income, education, and geographic location

 

Community mediation provides a non-profit framework for assuring access to mediation services at the community level with control and responsibility for dispute resolution maintained in the community.

Conflict Resolution Center of Baltimore County

8707 Harford Rd, Suite A, Parkville, MD  21234

410-663-7070