Peacemakers Wanted!
Community Mediation Center is a non-profit organization that provides pro bono mediation services to local families, neighborhoods, organizations, schools, and individuals in conflict. CMC also provides ongoing training and mentoring to our mediation community. We are seeking individuals with a passion for peacemaking to attend our upcoming Family Mediation Training and make a volunteer commitment for at least one year.
In our training, you will develop your skills in listening and helping others to have empowering and constructive conversations, and have opportunities to practice those skills through group exercises and mediation roleplay. You will learn about conflict dynamics, active listening skills, collaborative facilitation techniques, our 6-step mediation model, screening and safety planning protocol, power balancing, procedures for mediating cases from Knox County family courts, and many other subjects. We will include a variety of expert guest speakers who can provide you with practical advice on many topics.
Our volunteers assist hundreds of people a year with mediation services, giving them access to a positive and empowering alternative to the court system. When mediators help parents resolve parenting and/or divorce disputes, they are often able to save time and money, improve communication, create stability and consistency for their children, and develop a resolution that is workable for everyone involved. Mediators also reduce costly administrative burdens on local courts and are a critical avenue to help people who cannot afford lawyers access the justice system.
We look forward to reviewing volunteer applications from anyone in our community who is interested in serving others through mediation. Read about our volunteer mediation programs HERE and download the volunteer mediation application HERE.
Our 46-hour Family Mediation Training will take place on the following dates:
Weekend 1: Required for all new CMC volunteer family volunteers, as well as those seeking training for Rule 31 listing
- Thursday, January 17, 2019, 3:30PM – 8:30PM
- Friday, January 18, 2019, 3:30PM – 8:30PM
- Saturday, January 19, 2019, 8:30AM – 5:30PM
Weekend 2: Required for all new CMC volunteer family mediators, as well as those seeking training for Rule 31 listing (46 hr family & 32 civil-to-family crossover)
- Thursday, January 24, 2019, 3:30PM -9:00PM
- Friday, January 25, 2019, 3:30PM-9:15PM
- Saturday, January 26, 8:30AM – 5:30PM
Weekend 3: (NOT required for new volunteers) Required to complete 46 hrs of training for those seeking Rule 31 listing (46 hr family & 32 hr civil to family crossover)
- Thursday, February 21, 2019, 3:30PM – 8:30PM
- Friday, February 22, 2019, 3:30PM – 8:30PM
- Saturday, February 23, 2019, 8:30AM – 5:30PM
We are looking for community members who would like to become CMC family mediators. In return for training, observing and mentoring, we expect volunteers to commit to 1 year of volunteering, approximately 1-2 cases each month in Knox County Juvenile Court. Those volunteers who want to continue may take an additional training for divorce and post-divorce mediation.
If you’re interested in our upcoming training, please contact Jen Comiskey, our Training Director: cmctraining@2mediate.org or call 865-215-6570. Thanks!
