OUR SUCCESS STORIES

Community Mediation Participant Responses

"I have learned new ways to approach conflict."

~ Mediation participant

"[The mediators] were both fantastic. I appreciated learning new ways to listen and communicate and have found that they are useful to me outside [of this work mediation], in other relationships."

~ Mediation participant

"I appreciate that the ECR mediators gave each of us an opportunity to speak without interruptions."

~ Mediation participant

"The mediation provided me a restart in the way I work with my colleagues."

~ Mediation participant

Community Mediation Success Stories

Life as a Mediator with ECR

For almost 35 years I have been a mediator, trainer, educator, and teacher with Education for Conflict Resolution. Having spent most of my professional life working with children and families, mediation was a perfect fit for me. Looking back over those years there are so many mediations that stand out, and I still marvel at the ability of the human spirit to take an impossible situation and with the help of the mediation process, find solutions that work for everybody involved.

One such mediation will always be dear to my heart. ECR was contacted by a judge to help with a situation that involved a mother, two young children, and a grandmother. The background information included a history of disagreement between the mother and daughter for many years. The daughter now had two children that needed a guardian due to the mother’s inability to care for her children. The grandmother stepped up to the plate and raised her grandchildren for about 3 years.

During this time there was very little communication between the mother and daughter. Several years had passed and the daughter was now employed and doing well on her own. She appeared one day at the grandmother’s doorstep with a sheriff to get her children and take them home with her. The grandmother was terrified and tried to get her daughter and the sheriff to understand that this was not the way to transition the children, but she was told that because she never went to court to get official custody of the children, she did not have any say in the matter.

The children were removed, and the mother refused the grandmother any visitation because of her anger at her mother. The judge and the lawyer knew this was not a healthy situation for the children. The children loved their grandmother and missed her so much that it was affecting their schoolwork.

ECR agreed to do mediation between the mother and daughter. This was a two-part mediation that eventually included the two grandchildren. Through a lot of sharing, listening, and restating, there was an agreement reached that included a visitation for the children with their grandmother. There was also a healing that began between mother and daughter.

This mediation took place over 10 years ago. I was so blessed last year with a phone call from the grandmother thanking me for the wonderful healing that took place and for all her years of joy in getting to share time with her grandchildren again. She caught me up on all the news about her daughter and her two grandchildren. With mediation, there can be a happy ending!

This is just one of many such stories that I have been honored to be a part of over 35 years.

~ Angie Briner

School Attendance Mediations

"ECR attendance intervention is now required by our school policy. By adding this one step into our policy, the number of truancy affidavits have dropped 68% in the last 2 years."

~ Jeff Galley, Wabash High School

Peace Learning Connection Program

Take a moment to watch these videos about our highly-praised 4th grade Peace Learning Connection Program.