The Dispute Resolution Center of West Michigan (DRCWM) is perhaps one of the best-kept secrets in Grand Rapids. The organization helps settle disagreements between neighbors, people in landlord-tenant disputes, educational issues, parenting disputes, small claims issues, victim-offender (i.e., restorative justice), and many more.
Full disclosure: I work here, and it's awesome.
Usually when there are disagreements, someone wins... and someone loses. The DRCWM provides a neutral setting, and trained mediators help people discuss their issues and create their own win-win solutions to conflicts. It's an excellent alternative to court action, which is costly and much more time-intensive.
"I have been proud to be associated with the DRCWM since I began my mediator internship here in February 2007," says Christine Gilman, DRCWM's new Executive Director. "It is amazing to watch the effect of mediation on two people in conflict. Participants often metamorphose from combatants to mutual dispute resolvers over the period of a two-hour mediation session."
Gilman says that plans are in the works to start a restorative discipline initiative in local schools to encourage school attendance and decrease school suspension and expulsion rates.
"Students, family members, peers, and school representatives can work together to promote communication and accountability," Gilman says.
The Grand/Kent Community Reconciliation Center first opened its doors in 1986. A staff coordinates volunteers and conducts training, while the actual mediation work is virtually all done by volunteers who have been through extensive training. In 1992, the organization began doing business under the name Dispute Resolution Center of West Michigan. The DRCWM mediates disputes in seven Michigan counties: Kent, Ionia, Lake, Montcalm, Mecosta, Newaygo, and Osceola.
You don't have to be in the middle of a feud to attend the open house on Wednesday, May 1, from 4-6 p.m., 678 Front Ave. NW, Suite 250. The public is welcome.
Get involved:
- Contact the DRCWM at 616-774-0121, and visit their website at
www.drcwm.org.
- Attend DRCWM's open house on Wednesday, May 1 from 4-6 p.m. at 678 Front Ave. NW, Suite 250.
Source: Christine Gilman, Executive Director, DRCWM
Writer: Victoria Mullen, Do Good Editor