It’s Women’s History Month! As MV Mediation is also celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, we are putting a spotlight on some of the amazing women who have contributed to MV Mediation’s history of service to the island community.
Featured Service: Productive Conversations and Elderly & Aging Mediation
“Mediation gave me a voice . . . I was able to speak for myself in an environment where my family was encouraged to try to come up with positive constructive solutions that everyone could buy into. We were able to listen to each other instead of just reacting as we have for so many years.” This sentiment is shared by many participants who avail themselves of elderly mediation and productive conversations services.
RE-ENTRY PROGRAM: Making the Transition from Incarceration to Community Easier
Re-entry mediation is an opportunity to make plans for the future. These mediation sessions can include up to three people––the individual’s family, friends, workplace associates, fellow church members, etc. Participants should be individuals who are important to the person who is or was incarcerated and who would benefit from a conversation in a neutral and safe setting. All cases are confidential.
Youth on Martha's Vineyard
This month we joined seven other island organizations at the Teen Health Fair organized by the Island Wide Youth Collaborative. We were grateful to have conflict resolution skills included in the greater context of what it means to be healthy. We also recruited a few teens for our next Peer Mediation training!
Outreach to the Brazilian and Portuguese-Speaking Community Nós Podemos Ajudar Você
Re-Entry Program
Mediation Musings
I recently attended a national meeting devoted to Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR). In attendance were practitioners from all over the US and some other countries. We were eager to hear the research from those at the University of Nebraska in a presentation entitled "What the Public's Lack of Understanding of ADR Means."
Spring Introduction to Mediation Basics Intensive
Many of the past participants have stated that the training to become a mediator has helped them in their work, family, and personal lives. These skills have broad uses and the classes are fun and uplifting. Come ready to participate and interact. All classes are by zoom.
If you want to become a Massachusetts qualified mediator these are the first 24 hours of 40 hours required training.
MVMP to Waive Mediation and Conflict Coaching Fees through June 2020
Nancy Grundman, Program Coordinator
As we all continue to comply with guidance to stay home until the public health crisis has improved, we would like to let you know what is happening with MVMP. We are continuing to provide our Conflict Coaching and Mediation services by conference call or by video conferencing.
We have also been able to continue with many of our courses, trainings and workshops. We recently finished our Conflict Coaching class and are finishing up our Conflict Resolvers Course geared towards those individuals involved in public service. Both have continued through video conferencing. We will be rescheduling our Intro to Mediation class to the Fall. If you are interested in signing up please email us.
Our Youth Mediators continue to meet through video conferencing to continue their training. Technology has given us the ability to continue operating even though everyone is in different places.
We, at MVMP, understand how stressful life is presently,
some are learning new ways of working remotely and a new way to deal with colleagues,
some are dealing with new financial realities,
some are dealing with family issues, and
some have previously unresolved small claims cases.
In solidarity with the Island Community and in order to do our part, MVMP will waive its fees for Conflict Coaching and Mediation Services until the end of June. We are committed to continue to help Islanders. As our tag line says, We Can Work it Out!
If you would like to make a donation to MVMP please go to MVmediation.org and go to Donate.
Still Working from Home
Sara Barnes, Lead Mediator
We are home and doing our best to get through this time intact. Are you managing under the present circumstances?
In March the Mediation program was chugging along in one of our busiest months. Four courses up and running. About a dozen mediation cases moving forward. Some of us were planning to go off island for our statewide spring conference. We left one or another activity one day saying "see you next week!" And then. We didn't.
The new reality--its an overused phrase already. Who would have predicted that we would all know it means that we are staying far away from each other, learning new technology, checking the mirror to see our masked face. The news is grim and scary. We know people who are sick.
In difficult times, new ideas bubble to the surface. Otherwise, we would never have started writing a daily message about conflict resolution. Have you seen Working From Home the daily conflict resolution message? If not send us an email and we will add you on to the list.
Today two mediators held a perfectly normal mediation over a video conference platform. They were in different places, and managed to use their mediation tools and to help the disputants to come to an interim agreement.
The State conference happened on Monday. Online it took half the time and no one had to drive to see each other. Staring at ourselves in the video conference box, we found out what each other looks like in their living room, in their comfy chair, who has dogs and some interesting decor.
We are not under the mistaken impression that this situation is a good one. We know there is conflict out there, and we wish we could reach out to help more. And the inequities of the present moment seem particularly atrocious. We are thinking about each other and sending good thoughts to buoy spirits as best we can.
We were always in this together, though we might not have thought about it that way until now. Today, all of us at Martha's Vineyard Mediation are doing what we can to be a helpful part of our Island community. Let us know if there is something we can do to help you.
Our Year in Review
Our Year in Review
Christina Simmons, Board Member
With the year wrapping up and looking ahead to the future this is a chance to take a step back and reflect on all that we have accomplished. 2019 was a big year for MV Mediation Program. Part of our mission is to use education to encourage constructive dispute resolution. We are proud to have promoted our mission through education and in 2019 expanded our educational programs.
Our educational programs and trainings grow both in the number of trainings and also in the variety of trainings offered. We were able to offer seven programs and courses with most trainings taking place over the course of many weeks. We were also happy to co-sponsor many of these programs with other local organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA and local libraries. Here is a sampling of what we offered:
· Mediators Saturdays—Ongoing get togethers for mediators and apprentices to share best practices and build professional mediation skills.
· Conflict Coaching Training—A 15 hour qualification for new Conflict Coaches with an additional apprenticeship process.
· Introduction to Mediation Course—Offered in both the spring and fall each session was a 40 hour training and apprenticeship for MA qualified mediators.
· Spring and Fall Workplace Conflict Workshops—Seven two-hour workshops to support employees, managers and others in creating a healthy workplace with positive approaches to conflict resolution.
· Fall Conflict Management Cohort Course—20 hour course for Supervisors and Managers to develop proactive approaches to conflicts in the workplace.
· Landlord Tenant Workshop—A two hour workshop for landlords and tenants to resolve conflicts and avoid problems with tenancies.
We are working to develop programming for 2020 that meets the needs of our community. There are already an exciting array of offerings. Look above and register on our website or by calling our office.
Do you have an idea of what kind of educational topics we should be developing? Drop us a line and let us know what you would like to learn more about the in the areas of conflict resolution and alternative dispute resolution.
Asking the Right Question: Conflict Resolution Strategy Number One
December Mediation Musings
MVMP is part of a network of Massachusetts Community mediation programs--MOPC Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration.
Our Program Director wrote the following:
Hi everyone,
It has become something of a tradition now for me to send out a note of thanks to mark this peculiarly American and wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving. I am thinking particularly about things to be grateful for and the importance of valuing those around you.
So with that in mind I want to acknowledge an amazing year of progress and transition for many and also the extreme amount of hard work put in to manage these changes. For those interested in such things:
· 3330 mediations 72.68% of which reached agreement
· Outreach carried out to 19,310 at 449 outreach events
· 35 basic mediation trainings and 219 specialized trainings
· 93% of participants happy with the process and 90% would recommend to someone else
· Nearly 50% of participants reporting thought that mediation had built their skills, improved communication and reduced conflict/stress
· 3 new centers were brought into the re-entry program
· A new Probate and Family Court pilot was begun
· We conducted a successful conference with the Trial Court
· Many were trained in conflict coaching and are now offering services
I could go on and on, but for those less interested in numbers and more interested in the feeling the work generates, you can know that everything that was achieved was done in collaboration and friendship.
While you are sitting with your turkey, nut roast or protesting against the holiday as a colonialist relic, I hope you are not thinking about work. However you can bask in some of the successes of the past year and be grateful for your role as peacemakers. Thank you so much for everything you do.
Yours in solidarity
Ros
Rosalind Cresswell,
Program Manager, MOPC
October Mediation Musings
Conflict Resolution Day: Every Day at MVMP
Sara Barnes,
President and Lead Mediator
October 17, 2019 is a worldwide celebration of Conflict Resolution Day. In Massachusetts the legislature has declared the week of October 14-18 Conflict Resolution Week.
Everyday is conflict resolution day at Martha’s Vineyard Mediation Program. Here are a few happenings from last week.
· Working on the Youth Mediation Program—creating partnerships with a youth organization so our mediators have a confidential setting for mediation services.
· Answering inquiries from numerous individuals and organizations who are seeking mediation, facilitation or conflict coaching services.
· Interacting with various divorcing couples and our in-house lawyer who prepares the court packets, in order to finalize divorce documents.
· Workplace conflict session #2 with a cohort of supervisors and managers who are working their way through a published conflict management text.
· Preparation of our quarterly reports to the offices of the Attorney General, District Court, Probate/Family Court and Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration.
· Discussion with a sister mediation organization in order to consider a partnership on a complicated project.
· Preparation for the twice-yearly Introduction to Mediation course fielding inquiries and preparing materials.
· Drop by from a friend of the organization who was thinking about getting involved in MVMP.
· Meeting of the Conflict Coaches to develop their campaign to promote this free service for Martha’s Vineyard residents.
Sometimes we feel like we are in a tiny boat paddling hard against prevailing winds that push in the opposite direction. Your support and belief in our mission—to encourage and assist all residents of Dukes County to resolve conflicts through mediation and other constructive dispute resolution tools—keeps us afloat.
On October 17 we will celebrate Conflict Resolution Day, joining with thousands across the globe who take one day to lift up the notions that conflict resolution is the way forward toward peace and understanding. Add this one on to your list of holidays. Celebrate with MVMP.
September Mediation Musings
At least one, if not all of our principles: Confidentiality, Voluntariness, Neutrality and Self-Determination; function as guide stars for each service we offer. It's good to have principles to hold on to when we do mediation, facilitation, conflict coaching or educational work. These principles unite our organization and provide us with shared core values.
Communicate Carefully might well be considered another one of our principles because we know that successful practitioners in the conflict resolution field are precise and thoughtful in their communication. Choosing the right word or phrase, listening carefully, matching cadence and tone, being aware of how messages can be put in a more effective way, studying language and usage-- all are ways we can become more expert communicators. I found this article to be a great read in this regard. I hope you enjoy it and learn from it as I have.
Will we see you at one of our many upcoming activities? Workplace conflict is a big focus for the coming months. The Youth Project continues with two videos being edited and mediation services for youth now available with our newly trained Youth Mediators. The Introduction to Mediation course begins on October 3. We are, as usual, providing conflict resolution services to individuals and organizations as we continue to serve our community. We are scheduling into November and December now because we are so busy!
Thanks for your great support for our work.
Sara Barnes, President MVMP