Resolution Meeting Services

MRJC can help you to resolve difficult conflicts or disputes that may arise between you and your family members, neighbours, members of your community, people at work, or fellow participants in groups or activities by facilitating a meeting with the person or people you are having a dispute with.

Most individual/community-based Resolution Meeting Services we provide in the Greater Edmonton Area, facilitated by two members of our Conflict Resolution Team in a safe, public location, are of no-cost to any participant.  Call us on our Conflict Management & Support Hotline at 780-423-0896 to see if you qualify for free Resolution Meeting Services.

MRJC also provides Special Resolution Meeting Services to government organizations, businesses and non-government organizations (NGO’s) on a fee-for-service basis.  Our roster of accredited mediation professionals can help you to resolve group or individual disputes or conflicts within your organization.  Our accredited mediation professionals also support MRJC by mentoring and assisting in the training of our Conflict Resolution Team members to keep them up-to-date with trends in conflict resolution processes.  Call MJRC at 780-423-0896 to discuss your organizations unique dispute resolution requirements.

 

MRJC’S Resolution Meeting Services can help you to resolve your conflicts with other people or groups.   A Resolution Meeting, with in-person help and support from two trained members of our Conflict Resolution Team, can be set up between people who have a conflict or dispute.

Our Conflict Resolution Team has complete respect for both parties involved in the conflict or dispute, their individual values, interests and their needs.  Agreements that are reached at a Resolution Meeting tend to better suit and clarify the needs of the parties involved, and, therefore, both parties are more likely to comply with terms of the agreement that they developed together with the support of our Conflict Resolution Team.

What To Expect

Resolution Meetings are facilitated by MRJC’s neutral and impartial Conflict Resolution Team.  They will help people who have a conflict or dispute to:

  1. identify issues between both parties that require resolve;
  1. encourage discussion and sharing about the importance of the issue(s) with both parties, and, to;
  1. generate solutions that will address the concerns of both parties.

Setting up and participating in a Resolution Meeting is a voluntary process.  It is completely confidential.  The process encourages people to share and recognize each other’s perspectives about the conflict.

Through the Resolution Meeting process, people in conflict or dispute can empower themselves, to make their own decisions regarding all aspects of the process, including the outcomes. Our Conflict Resolution Team observes and values people’s rights, and encourages parties involved in the conflict or dispute, to consider each other’s needs, interests, feelings and values.

Because each of us has been raised with different beliefs and values, conflict between people in a community can frequently occur.  We define a community as any setting where people interact together, including neighbourhoods, workplaces, or within cultural or other groups.  When conflict has been not managed properly between two or more parties in a community, constructive communication most often breaks down.

The Resolution Meeting process empowers people to work out their problems themselves with guidance and encouragement from our Conflict Resolution Team.  Whenever possible, our team will highlight some background information about each person involved with the conflict or dispute including culture, age and other characteristics that might inform participants of the Conflict Mediation Meeting and support some form of resolution.

Resolution Meetings are a facilitative process.  They help people to meet, talk and understand a problem.   Our Conflict Resolution Team does not make judgments or express their opinions. A Resolution Meeting seeks to change the way people relate to one other, and is not just a way to solve a problem.

In Resolution Meetings, MRJC uses a co-facilitator model.   Our Conflict Resolution Team of two trained community members that best fit with the personalities of those involved in the conflict, are assigned to the Resolution Meeting process.


How the Resolution Meeting Process Works

  1. With MRJC’s guidance and support, once a community member in conflict determines that a Resolution Meeting could be helpful, and if there is potential for each party to be open to such a meeting, the parties within the dispute are contacted separately.  MRJC contacts prospective participants by mail or telephone and offers them the option of participating in a Resolution Meeting. 
  1. If all parties agree to come together for a meeting, MRJC’s Case Developers provide support to each individual or group involved in the conflict or dispute, separately, to prepare them for the Resolution Meeting.
  1. The time and location of the Resolution Meeting is scheduled, if possible, in a public place in or near the community where the people in conflict or dispute live.
  1. Two members of our Conflict Resolution Team, that best fit the personalities of the parties and/or type of conflict, are assigned to the Resolution Meeting process.
  1. The parties in conflict or dispute and our Conflict Resolution Team meet at the designated time and location.
  1. Our Conflict Resolution Team starts the Resolution Meeting by introducing themselves and explaining their role(s) in the meeting. They present guidelines to the participants that will help to facilitate respectful, quality and constructive discussion.
  1. Each person involved in the conflict or dispute is asked to describe briefly what they would like to discuss at the Resolution Meeting.  Our Conflict Resolution Team summarizes the participant comments and work with the participants to create a prioritized list of topics for discussion.
  1. In turn, each participant in the conflict or dispute is invited to share their perspective about the situation(s), how they are affected by it, and what issues are most important to them.
  1. Our Conflict Resolution Team encourages an exchange of thoughts and feelings, to ensure that each person in the conflict or dispute, fully understand the views of the other(s). Note:  understanding doesn't necessarily mean agreement.   The primary objective of the Resolution Meeting, in working toward impact or even resolve, is for all meeting participants to get as complete a picture of each person’s (involved in the conflict or dispute) perspective on the situations standing between them, as possible.
  1. Toward the end of the meeting, our Conflict Resolution Team helps the participants in conflict or dispute to brainstorm creative options.  Our team works with participants and helps to guide their choice(s) of solution(s) that will work best for everyone involved.
  1. The parties who have worked toward resolving their conflict or dispute can request a written agreement that is prepared by our Conflict Resolution Team.  The written agreement, provided (upon request) to both parties, outlines not only the agreement in principle, but accountabilities and timelines for actions decided upon.

Who are our Mediation Service Delivery Volunteers?

Our Conflict Resolution Team is fully-trained in conflict management and process facilitation by MRJC and other recognized conflict trainers including the Alberta Arbitration & Mediation Society, Alberta Conflict Transformation Society and the Appropriate Dispute Resolution Institute of Canada, to name a few.  Some members of our Conflict Resolution Team also work with other service program providers in the Greater Edmonton Area.

Our Conflict Resolution Team believes in the value of community and members within it, and that they should live in harmony.

Our Resolution Meeting process uses a co-facilitation model, where two Conflict Resolution Team members are assigned to each conflict or dispute discussion to maximize perspective, experience and benefits for those involved.

MRJC also provides Special Resolution Meeting Services to government organizations, businesses and non-government organizations (NGO’s) on a fee-for-service basis.  Our roster of accredited mediation professionals help to resolve group or individual disputes or conflicts within organizations.  Our accredited mediation professionals also support MRJC by mentoring and assisting in the training of our Conflict Resolution Team members to keep them current on hybrid resolution models, peacekeeping circles, community conferencing and many other developments and options in conflict resolution process.

How long does a Conflict Resolution Meeting take?

A typical Resolution Meeting involving two people in conflict or dispute and our two-member Conflict Resolution Team will take two to three hours. Allowing this amount of time provides an opportunity for each participant to share their perspectives, for quality group brainstorming, to develop creative solutions, and to draft an agreement, ideally in written form, that is beneficial for all involved.

The more people involved in a Resolution Meeting, the more time that will be required to complete the process.

More complex situations may require multiple Resolution Meetings or more Conflict Resolution Team members to facilitate the process.

A Community Hybrid Model for Resolution Meetings

MRJC utilizes a Community Hybrid Model to address long-standing, community-based issues that have the potential to escalate to retaliation -- potentially, even into something criminal in nature.

MRJC has worked in community-based mediation (assisting neighbours to address issues, concerns, or disputes) for more than twenty years.  Our vast experience in this forum has been critical for the development of our Community Hybrid Model -- dialogue focused on assisting both parties to address the harm that has resulted from the long standing retaliatory behaviours.  This mediated discussion and restorative work is required, prior to MRJC making any attempt to assist parties, to work through their issues and concerns in a Resolution Meeting.

Members of our Conflict Resolution Team are fully-trained in the Community Hybrid Model process, that involves restorative practices (addressing harm) and community mediation (addressing the conflict), to work within these often volatile situations.

To find out more about MRJC’s Resolution Meetings or Community Hybrid Model process, contact us at 780-423-0896 or Request Services via e-mail.