by Dyane Hendricks

A family seeks help when tensions rise in the home because income is lost in the economic crisis.   A seventh-grader steps in when she sees two classmates ready to fight. A community finds resolution about the proposed shopping mall.

Since 1986 the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center has been a source of mediation and facilitation services in San Mateo County. Earning a Sustainable San Mateo County award in 2006, the nonprofit agency offers services at no cost or a small fee to individuals, local governments, schools and community organizations.

Mediation, an alternative to a costly legal battle, can be used to solve disputes between neighbors who might have disagreements over boundary lines, business partners trying to dissolve a partnership, and even parents and teens who are not communicating.

Mediation is conducted by an impartial panel with the goal of assisting the disputing parties come to their own resolution. Terms of the agreement are put into writing and signed by the parties involved.

PCRC is able to keep costs down because its mediators are volunteers. While there are some attorneys among the 200 volunteer mediators, no specific background is required. Artists, flight attendants and retired schoolteachers are among the panelists that can be called to a session. The volunteers are selected after at least 25 hours of training. Family mediators are required to take additional training.

PCRC also relies on volunteers to help facilitate both public and private meetings. As with mediators, training is required for volunteer  facilitators. PCRC offers facilitation training, a two-day course that demonstrates everything from taking meeting notes to managing a situation with an unruly audience.

While the facilitation training is required for PCRC volunteers, the course is offered to anyone interested in learning meeting management skills. The course is often taken by members of nonprofit boards, government agencies or anyone interested in learning how to run a more efficient meeting.

Using the same mediation and facilitation principles, the center designed the PCRC Schools Program to help teachers, students and parents create a safe learning environment that teaches respect and collaboration. Topics like girl bullying, teen communication and cyberbullying  are included in the program for adults and children. Taught conflict resolution skills, students actually become peer mediators using skills to resolve playground fights. In addition to teaching students how to become peer mediators, the program provides facilitation services for children and youth who want to discuss among themselves, and with adults, issues  including gang violence, youth crime and health issues such as obesity.

The Parent Involvement and Leadership Program deals with helping parents feel comfortable working with their children’s schools. As communities continue to become more ethnically diverse, the program has assisted both school administrations and parents learn to communicate with each other. PCRC staff, known as Parent and Leadership Facilitators, work at school sites helping parents, who might have limited English-speaking skills, take leadership roles. The PILP program helps teachers, principals and school staff have a clearer understanding of different cultures.

For information about mediation, the Schools Program, or training, contact PCRC at 650-513-0330 or visit the center’s Web site.

On the Web:

www.pcrcweb.org