Article posted August 25, 2012
The following quotes from an article by David Lea published in the Oakville Beaver on June 21st, 2012
Community Conflict Resolution Services helps neighbours resolve conflicts
As Halton continues to grow and people find themselves living closer and closer together, neighbourly conflicts are inevitable.
When those conflicts happen, the Community Conflict Resolution Services of Halton (CCRS) wants residents to know the not-for-profit organization is there to help bring these disagreements to fair resolution.
“Currently funded by the municipality of Oakville, the organization is looking to increase awareness and use of the free services that they provide. These services include mediation of interpersonal grievances, as well as general training in conflict resolution strategies,” said Alixandra Nenniger of CCRS.
“The mediation process is founded on the principle that conflict is natural and healthy, as long as it is managed effectively. Mediation represents a productive alternative to aggressive confrontation, as well as the helplessness many non-confrontational individuals may feel when faced with a conflict.”
Resolving the conflict this way, Nenniger said, means a decrease in repeated court and police interventions, which strain limited government resources.
With a team of trained volunteer mediators from diverse backgrounds, including legal, paralegal and social work, the CCRS mediates disputes between neighbours, friends, relatives, tenants and co-workers.
“Mediators provide a neutral third party to organize, facilitate, and guide a meeting between the two people who disagree. The mediator’s role is to encourage understanding between apparently opposed perspectives while having no vested interest themselves,” said Nenniger.
“The process typically takes only about two hours in total, but can save a huge amount of time and stress. Meetings are held at a neutral location, such as the Town of Oakville offices. Ideally, the process allows the parties to arrive at a win-win solution that they engineer themselves. In other instances, compromise is necessary.”
The CCRS was created when Oakville Dispute Mediators and Conflict Resolution Services Milton merged two years ago.
For more information about CCRS, visit www.ccrshalton.com or call 905-844-5414.
