National Association for Community Mediation - Nafcm -

How We Help: Community mediators are willing to volunteer their time to assist parties in resolving their most difficult conflicts.  Parents going through a divorce who need a parenting plan for their children, landlords and tenants who are unable to agree on the terms of a lease, or banks and homeowners who are unable to find common ground and are close to foreclosure;  these are all examples of where community mediators are making a diference in your community.  Community mediators are the unsung heroes in our communities and community mediation centers are the nonprofit or government organizations that assist in harnessing these tremendous community resources. The National Association for Community Mediation exists to support and assist community mediators and community mediation programs world-wide. 

Where We Help: We are local!  No matter where you live in the US, there are community mediators that are nearby.  Specifically, there are over 400 community mediation centers and 20,000 community mediator in the United States.  However, NAFCM is the only organization in the world that is dedicated to assisting community mediators and community mediation center with a clear focus on moving the community mediation field forward on a large scale.   

Mediation Defined: Mediation is a process of dispute resolution in which one or more impartial third parties intervenes in a conflict with the consent of the disputants and assists them in negotiating a consensual and informed agreement. In mediation, the decision-making authority rests with the parties themselves. Recognizing variations in styles and cultural differences, the role of the mediator(s) involves assisting the disputants in defining and clarifying issues, reducing obstacles to communication, exploring possible solutions, and reaching a mutually satisfactory agreement. Mediation presents the opportunity to peacefully express conflict and to "hear each other out" even when an agreement is not reached. 

Community Mediation Works: Community mediation offers constructive processes for resolving differences and conflicts between individuals, groups, and organizations and has an overall settlement rate of approximately 70%. It is an alternative to avoidance, destructive confrontation, prolonged litigation or violence. It gives people in conflict an opportunity to take responsibility for the resolution of their dispute and control of the outcome. Community mediation is designed to preserve individual interests while strengthening relationships and building connections between people and groups, and to create processes that make communities work for all of us.

Summary: The purpose of the National Association for Community Mediation is to support the maintenance and growth of community-based mediation programs and processes, to present a compelling voice in appropriate policy-making, legislative, professional, and other arenas, and to encourage the development and sharing of resources for these efforts.