Welcome to the final newsletter of this year – a year when numerous people have commented that they don’t understand where the time has flown and how we’re in the run-up to Christmas again!
As usual, the end of the year is a time for reflection and looking forward. This bulletin will contain some of both; Jackie’s report on an interesting service operating in the New Forest demonstrates how different services work on helping people to resolve neighbour disputes. I will also be writing about plans for 2010 in terms of agreeing a strategy for the service, and how we take forward the Action Learning Set model into next year. I always ask for feedback, and do often receive comments from mediators, but would be really grateful for suggestions as to how these newsletters could be made more relevant and user-friendly. If you would like to contribute articles, please just send them in to the office. If you read things which you think might interest others, send us a link or reference and we can include it. We do welcome your input, and hope that we can make more of it next year.
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Mediator Changes
Once again, this is an opportunity to say goodbye, thank you and welcome to a number of people.
Terry and Chris are no longer with us as volunteers. Jacqui Barclay and Jenny Oldroyd have also left the team.
Sarah Leonard has been on maternity leave but hopes to resume in the New Year, and Tracy Heather is currently taking a break following the birth of her daughter.
Penelope is currently on sabbatical but still in touch and Alison Orsten continues her stint in Abu Dhabi – with a possible return to the UK in the offing?
Shlomit Eliashar has rejoined the team after a break for intensive studies.
Jacqui van Loen has taken up a new career in teaching and is currently unavailable.
Joining the service are 5 new mediators;
Tal Calthrop, Jan De-Vyott, Jessie George, Brenda Lowe and Zen Thompson.
Jeremy Brown, Tristan Cooper and Sarah Mack – our apprentice mediators, who will undertake the next OCN Training Course.
Finally, Joyce Stephens is taking a break for a year and Cliff Norris will be unavailable for the first 6 months of 2010.
Our thanks to all those who are moving on and a plea to keep us in touch with your news. And welcome to our new volunteers – we are delighted to have you on board!
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We are proposing to do something different this year, tied in with consultation on the strategic plan. The Board has been undertaking work on writing a new 3-year plan to begin in April 2010. Work on this is reaching a crucial stage, and the Board wishes to consult all mediators and other stakeholders on what is being proposed in the early months of 2010. The suggestion, therefore, is that mediators will be invited to a consultation event, which will include a meal and time for social interchange. We would very much like as many people as possible to attend, and hope to have a date and some more solid information to send out to you by early January.
If this arrangement causes anyone disappointment, please do let us know as our hope is that we can meet as a team and have a sociable time as well as expressing views about the future direction of the service. We also hope to have a summer social event to bring people together.
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Mediation Assessment provided by NFS Mediation
Mediation Assessment is a Mediation model specifically designed for housing organisations. Its purpose is to introduce Mediation and dispute resolution based services to as many people as possible and to give realistic options to those involved in neighbour issues. The three main tasks of Mediation Assessment are:
Though this “ideal” process is not always possible, it is quickly determined that the Mediation Assessment phase can provide a remarkably successful outcome for those who cannot or will not go to mediation. In many cases when people are open to mediation the situation can be resolved there and then by the assessor during the assessment itself.
The goals are to get the disputants into a process that helps them see that there are options other than violence or involving law enforcement. The mediation Assessment process encourages people to get as near as possible to the aims of mediation, i.e. that people in conflict come to their own decisions about how to resolve or manage disputes. Although fewer actual mediations than anticipated have taken place, Mediation Assessment has proved to be a way to show people that they have options to choose from and that mediation is one of these options.
Mediation Assessment is an independent and impartial service. Assessment is the first step of an early intervention dispute resolution tool to tackle reported neighbourhood nuisance. By working with the involved parties promptly – within 2 days of a complaint being received – Mediation Assessment seeks to defuse emotions, and help residents understand and resolve problems before they escalate.
The New Forest & Southampton Assessment Service seeks to identify the most appropriate and realistic response to any report of ASB/Neighbour nuisance made to the local Housing Office and to facilitate informal resolutions to disputes between referred clients, whenever possible. These responses might include action from the Housing Office or by other agencies, face to face or shuttle mediation.
As with our service, volunteers carry out the actual mediations but face-to-face mediation is not always possible because the issues are deeply entrenched or the clients’ ability to go to mediation may be impaired by mental health problems, substance abuse, discrimination, domestic violence or desire for anonymity in making a complaint.
Often the Assessment process is a dispute management tool in itself and eases situations, resulting in no further action as communication and relationships have been improved by the visits themselves. When neighbours do not wish to communicate directly with each other, assessors will discuss with each party strategies that might bring an improvement to the situation. An unforeseen benefit of Assessment has been in identifying individuals who may need help from their local housing office in complying with the terms in their tenancy agreement.
Southampton City Council offers this service in partnership with the NFS Mediation (New Forest and Southampton Mediation) www.nfsmediation.org.uk
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Action Learning and Planned Events for 2010
You may remember that this time last year, we were planning our first set of meetings for 2009, with a view to seeing how they worked at the end of the first year. 3 lots of sets have taken place and they have generally been well received and reasonably well attended. However, there are a number of issues which need to be borne in mind as we plan meetings for 2010;
For 2010, therefore, some changes are being proposed. Firstly, the sets are being renamed as Practice Support Groups. This is because the focus of the meetings is to talk about practice issues and gain support and suggestions from other group members, so the name change makes that more explicit. The other changes I’m proposing are as follows;
Below are the dates and venues for the first set of meetings. The office will send a reminder out in the New Year and ask each of you which of these you can attend – please notify Jackie or Sarah, who will update the list.
Monday 11th January at 10am – MH office in Hemel.
Wednesday 13th January at 7pm – Maria’s house in St Albans.
Monday 18th January at 7pm – MH office in Hemel.
Tuesday 26th January at 7pm – venue in North Herts – to be agreed.
Friday 29th January at 2pm – Portfolio group meets in St Albans.
As part of the strategy planning process, there will be discussions about a mediator ‘career path’ which hopes to make more explicit how individual mediators can extend and build on their skills and gain further accreditation. This discussion will include a proposal that mediators commit to a minimum number of support group meetings and additional training days in order to remain an active team member. Your input to this discussion will be crucial so please prioritise attendance at the consultation event.
Other Events to be Scheduled during 2010
More information on all the above will follow in Jan and Feb.
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Christmas Office Closure
The office will be closed from Thursday 24th December and will reopen on Monday 4th January. We wish you a happy and celebratory Christmas.
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