Community Mediation Trends and Needs: a study of Virginia and Ten States

Rappahannock Mediation Center (RMC)

The Rappahannock Mediation Center, located in Fredericksburg, serves Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford Counties and the City of Fredericksburg and the town of Colonial Beach. Incorporated on February 2, 1989, the center began as a grassroots organization with a mission to “empower individuals, groups and organizations to resolve conflict amicably.”

Today, the RMC has two full-time staff and 58 volunteer members. Twenty-five volunteers are Virginia Supreme Court-certified. In addition to a wide range of mediation services, the RMC also provides mediator training, community education, and school-based peer mediation training programs. In 1997-98, the RMC served 1,216 individuals. In 1998-99, the RMC served 2,188 individuals. In 1999-2000, the RMC served 3,270 individuals.

Appendix F: Collected Study Quotes

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  “Building meaningful community capacity and changing conflict patterns are the most powerful tools provided by community mediation programs. Many of the elements of true democracy are present in the work we do. I believe that if, in any given situation, there is a community and a conflict, placing everyone together in one room and working through the mediation process will result in the most equitable and elegant solution possible.”
  

-- Scott Bradley, Executive Director, Mediation Network of North Carolina

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  “What you find many times with people who are referred to community mediation is that they have not spoken directly to the person who they’re in conflict with. Community mediation provides the capacity for people to meet face-to-face and to really hear the issues. Enhancing people’s ability to discuss issues is the beauty of the process. It prevents an escalation, it’s inexpensive, and it’s personal.”
  

-- Lisa Hicks, Executive Director, New York State Dispute Resolution Association

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  “Everyone involved with community mediation in Maryland believes that it provides an affordable service that goes a lot further than easing court dockets and reducing police calls. Community mediation programs preserve relationships and yield long-lasting results. The research on community mediation programs is only beginning to document its dynamism and potential for community-wide success.”
  

-- Nick Beschen, Executive Director, Maryland Association of Community Mediation Centers

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  “Here in Hawaii, we’ve found out that the usefulness of mediation within a community really has no bounds. It can be very creative, as long as you keep the basic tenets of mediation, the neutrality, the fairness, the allowing of parties to control their own destiny, in mind. Over time, we’ve learned that more, rather than less, is always possible with community-based mediation programs.”
  

-- Bruce McEwan, Chairman, Board of Directors, Mediation Centers of Hawaii (MCH), Inc.

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  “The benefits of community mediation is something I believe in to my core. It enables people to resolve conflicts themselves and provides the space and time to do so. Community mediation centers are vital so that people to have a place to resolve conflicts.”
  

-- Sharon Press, Director, Florida Dispute Resolution Center

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  “Personally, I find this work very satisfying. I feel I have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of a good many people.”
  

-- Dwight Ericsson, Director, Education for Conflict Resolution (ECR), Huntington