Mediation Center Improves Community
The Mediation Center of Dutchess County provides youth and school services that have massively benefitted the community. Not only does the program teach children to understand themselves and others in conflict, but they also focus on repairing harm after an incident occurs.
“We do a lot of work in schools using restorative practices, ‘restorative justice,’ including processes like restorative circles and conferences. These practices can be used to address community matters proactively or retroactively,” Executive Director Jane Cottrell said. “We discuss what happened, who was affected, how were they affected, what do people think should be done to repair the harm, and to be sure that it never reoccurs.”
The mediation center operates pursuant to New York State enabling legislation. The law mandates that each county have a mediation center and that the mediation centers recruit and train community volunteers to learn how to mediate, and they serve on a volunteer basis mediating disputes that are self referred and are referred by court and that are also heard alternatively in court.
Director of Marist College Liberty Partnerships Program, Melinda Martinez, discusses her experience with the Mediation Center. “The Mediation Center provided restorative justice training for my rising 9th and 10th graders last July and August. Each session was two hours long and there were two facilitators who conducted small group sessions three days a week,” Martinez said. The session topics consisted of family story telling, identity and difference circles, anger as an alarm, and so on.
“Initially, the students were hesitant to open up to the facilitators,” Martinez explains, “Through time, the students and facilitators built support and trust… I think some of the sessions were very therapeutic and helped build empathy amongst students.” The students were said to be very pleased with the workshops, becoming opened and expressive discussing their background stories. “It’s a very constructive community building program that we do with students in schools,” Cottrell said.
