What Services are Provided by Member Organizations?
Generally, member organizations provide a range of facilitative services to assist clients in finding solutions to issues that work for them. This can be coaching, mentoring, group intervention, and is often mediation. See the section on Mission, Values, Goals and Objectives for more information.
Definition of Mediation
The members of the Coalition agree that they practice the following definition of community mediation:
Community mediation is a transformative and facilitative model of conflict resolution. It is a confidential, voluntary process that encourages individuals in conflict to share their recognition of each other’s perspectives. Through this process, the individuals in the conflict empower themselves to make their own decisions regarding all aspects of the process including the resolutions. Community mediation observes and values people’s rights and asks people to consider their own and each other’s needs, interests, feelings and values. The process is offered at no charge to the people experiencing the conflict.
Community mediators are trained according to the Standards for Training of the Ontario Community Mediation Coalition. Mediators usually work in pairs and are drawn from and broadly representative of the community in which they live, work or volunteer. Community mediators are impartial and work in the interests of all the parties involved in a conflict. They do not evaluate the situations they mediate, except to ensure the good faith, competence and safety of the parties involved.
Community mediation encourages people to reflect on their own thoughts, values and feelings about conflict and their relationships with the others involved in the conflict. It is a voluntary process. Community mediation values and encourages inclusivity, diversity and equity. The process is about transforming the individuals involved in the conflict to gain the skills and knowledge to better deal with conflict in the future and to transform the systemic conditions that the conflicts happen within.
Community mediation tries to be accessible to everyone, regardless of language, culture, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, class, income or any other characteristic.
Community mediation is a transformative and facilitative model of conflict resolution. It is a confidential, voluntary process that encourages individuals in conflict to share their recognition of each other’s perspectives. Through this process, the individuals in the conflict empower themselves to make their own decisions regarding all aspects of the process including the resolutions. Community mediation observes and values people’s rights and asks people to consider their own and each other’s needs, interests, feelings and values. The process is offered at no charge to the people experiencing the conflict.
Community mediators are trained according to the Standards for Training of the Ontario Community Mediation Coalition. Mediators usually work in pairs and are drawn from and broadly representative of the community in which they live, work or volunteer. Community mediators are impartial and work in the interests of all the parties involved in a conflict. They do not evaluate the situations they mediate, except to ensure the good faith, competence and safety of the parties involved.
Community mediation encourages people to reflect on their own thoughts, values and feelings about conflict and their relationships with the others involved in the conflict. It is a voluntary process. Community mediation values and encourages inclusivity, diversity and equity. The process is about transforming the individuals involved in the conflict to gain the skills and knowledge to better deal with conflict in the future and to transform the systemic conditions that the conflicts happen within.
Community mediation tries to be accessible to everyone, regardless of language, culture, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, class, income or any other characteristic.
Training Standards
The Coalition has established criteria for achieving the minimum standard of 21 hours for the (classroom) training of community mediation service volunteers in Ontario. Volunteers are then mentored by experienced mediators. These standards are reviewed on a regular basis with the view to keeping up to date with latest practices and theory in the field. Click here for more details.
