Mission
The mission of the Center for Mediation is: to provide individuals, organizations, and businesses with constructive skills and processes to effectively resolve their differences.
Commitment
The Center for Mediation is recognized for its mediation services and high-quality training expertise. We are committed to increasing the peaceful resolution of conflict throughout the state. We raise public awareness of many values of mediation and encourage its use to address a broad variety of public and private disputes in a confidential, safe, and empowering process.
Center for Mediation
As the state’s only community mediation center, we provide a safe, affordable, and confidential environment where organizations and people can engage in constructive dialogue, effectively manage conflicts, and settle disputes. We work with others to develop better listening, communication, and collaboration skills in order to improve both their professional and personal relationships.
Empowering
Mediation empowers individuals to craft their own solutions to the challenges that they face. You are the expert of your situation. You speak for yourself, think for yourself, and decide for yourself.
Voluntary
Mediation is voluntary in that the parties, even if required or ordered to meditate, get out of it what they put into it.
Respectful
Mediation encourages better listening, communication, and mutual awareness between participants.
Confidential
Mediators hold all mediation discussions and agreements in confidence.
History
The concept of community mediation has grown rapidly over the course of the past three decades in response to concerns over violence in our society and frustration with our overburdened and expensive judicial system. Hundreds of community mediation Centers now operate throughout the United States and are widely recognized as vital components of justice in most states. The Center for Mediation, founded in 1996, is Rhode Island’s only such Center. The idea for the Center was conceived among a group of visionary founders who wanted to increase the use of peaceful conflict resolution techniques across the state, and who, for several years, operated the Center as an entire volunteer
board-run organization.
In April of 1999, at the request of Judge Indeglia, the Center began a pilot mediation program in Newport County District Court. From its inception, the program was very successful. In 2000, at the request of the late Judge DeRobbio, the program expanded to Providence County District Court. In 2002, the program expanded further to Kent and Washington County District Courts, and then to Providence’s Housing Court. Today, the Center continues to operate its Court Mediation Program in the four District Courts under a grant from the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
Today, the Center for Mediation has broadened its work to include:
- Private mediation for many types of conflicts.
- Workplace mediation for individuals or work teams.
- USDA-certified Agricultural Mediation Program (RIAMP), providing no-cost mediation services to the farm community in RI.
- Basic Mediation training program for those who would like to learn mediation skills.
- Peer Mediation training programs for local schools and after school programs.
- Conflict resolution, communication, and leadership development training for organizations and businesses.
True to our mission, the Center continues to provide affordable mediation and dispute resolution services to community residents and organizations throughout the state.