Community Med
All people have conflicts. Family members may disagree upon what they like to eat. Apartment tenants might not agree upon the acceptable noise levels, complain about the neighbour's dog, or the emulating smoke of their barbecue. While most of these matters are successfully sorted out through exchange and compromise between the resolving parties, some disputes are harder to resolve, threatening relationships and causing long-term resentments. As the relationship sours a series of escalating retribution may occur, such as property damage, personal threats and violence, resulting in police and court involvement.
In the early 1990's, a small group of concerned residents of the West-end, Bellevue Manor area, recognized the escalation of neighbourhood conflict in their community. To deal with the problem they formed the not-for-profit, volunteer driven, Neighbourhood Coalition for Conflict Resolution(NCCR). The NCCR was formed to provide mediation services in an area that is low-income, with a high multicultural make-up, and where most residents cannot afford alternate models of mediation.
The origin of the NCCR was the brain-child of its coordinator, Bellevue resident and former Carleton University student, Jabril Abdulle. Abdulle's involvement with the Carleton Mediation Centre, and mediation expert, Cheryl Picard, inspired him to experiment the validity of various professional mediation techniques by which to resolve the many social issues faced in his community. Among these techniques is to provide trained mediators from the community, where possible, that reflect its social make-up, in regards to cultural and economic background, age, and gender.
"(Conflict resolution) is really about teaching people life skills so that when they find themselves in a conflict, they can respond in a way that they...and the other person can feel good about," says current NCCR president, Cheryl Picard. Picard stresses the need for flexibility in dealing with conflict among, and between different cultural groups, especially in a community which consists of approximately fifty different cultural groups. "Much about what (North American mediators) know about mediation stems from western values." According to Picard the western model of mediation which emphasizes confidentiality and neutrality, is alien to many other cultures where respected elders and societal leaders mediate on the basis of their societal standards.
Andrew D. Louis, a trained mediator and board of director in the NCCR, emphasises the uniqueness of the organization's use of dual mediation, where two mediators represent the parties involved. Though similar organizations have existed in the United States, and in larger Canadian cities, he knows of no other organization which employs this particular system. "There is a lot of curiosity. We get calls as far away as the United States," he claims.
The significance of dual mediation is that the parties are, ideally, mutually represented by mediators who know their mother language, and have some knowledge of their cultural customs. "The NCCR is trying to bridge the gap," Picard explains. "When people feel misunderstood they become quite sensitized, emotions build and there can be some kind of retaliation. NCCR tries to prevent this."
Neighbourhood conflict resolution is also about preventing situations from involving the police and the courts. "It would be scary to see how much money it would save (the disputants, and society)," Ottawa-Carleton Police Staff-Sargent, and NCCR's incoming president, Gary Nelson says. "Why do two sides have to hire lawyers if they can sit down and resolve these conflicts themselves," he continues, pointing to the success of Quebec's mandatory mediation rules for divorce cases. Staff-Sargent Nelson, who supervises 9-1-1 calls, claims that the Regional Police received 100 less calls in 1996, than in the previous year, though he admits that it is still to early to show statistical evidence which directly merits the NCCR. Still, he supports the idea that mediation services, such as the NCCR, should be provided in every community.
The NCCR is still in its infancy, and it's mandate is limited to Bellevue manor. "We chose a particular area to show a success rate there, before we spread out," notes Andrew D. Louis, despite many the many outside calls from different areas of Ottawa-Hull. Part of its restrictions is due to financial limitations, surviving since its foundation though funding provided by the Trillium Foundation. It also has a charitable status, which provides a tax deduction for those who wish to donate to the cause.
For more information on the Neighbourhood Coalition for Conflict Resolution, you can call its main office at, (613)724-6058.