Our community mediation service

“The most important aspect of mediation is allowing people to talk about their situation, initially just to the mediators then, if they feel comfortable and brave enough, to the other party.” Ben, WMS Volunteer

We support families and neighbours in dispute with our community mediation service.

We help people hold a difficult conversation, acknowledging conflict and providing a space where people can consider and choose solutions to the issue at hand.

Every dispute brings with it a different set of issues, and that is where the flexibility of Community Mediation can be so helpful for a number of different situations.

Our service supports many registered social landlords in the borough and can also work with managing agents and those owning their own property. Issues can range from neighbourhood disputes about noise and lifestyle, to conflicts within families or between friends.

You can read here about how mediation helped local residents resolve their grievances and move onto a life with less conflict.

The Community Mediation process typically involves the following steps:

Referral

You may be referred to us by your landlord or signposted by a community organisation. We will then make contact with you to check you are willing to be involved in mediation. You will have two trained mediators who will be with you throughout the mediation process.

First Visit

After confirming both wish to take part in the mediation process, our volunteers will visit everyone involved individually. The mediators will listen carefully to your view of the dispute and help you clarify how you would like it to be in the future. The mediators are there to listen and support you with your grievance, but it is for you to come up with your own suggestions you have for sorting out the disagreement. Be assured that information shared during the mediation is private and confidential (with the exception of disclosure of serious abuse).

Mediation

The mediation meeting will either be held in one room (a round table) or in separate rooms (a shuttle mediation) if parties do not wish to meet in person. The meeting is run according to some basic ground rules which the Mediator will explain clearly at the start. These include listening without interrupting and not using offensive remarks. Each person will then have a chance to talk about the problem as it affects him or her. The Mediators will try to make sure that everyone understands what each person has said, and allow them to respond.

The Mediator will then help both parties identify the issues that need to be sorted out. Very often this leads to solutions that no one had thought of before, helping parties to reach an agreement. An agreement is usually written down, and signed by both parties and the mediators. The agreement is not legally binding and does not affect legal rights but is made in good faith between both individuals.

Contact us if you have a case you would like to refer community mediation. You can also find out about the mediation projects and training we are involved in or read about mediation.