Community Mediation Center Executive Director Nancy Core, left, and Program Manager Janice Juntunen stand outside the organization’s new location at 120 N.W. Pacific Ave., Chehalis, next to the county courthouse. The nonprofit organization’s motto is “to strengthen our community by providing safe forums and tools for resolving differences based on the principles of equality and respect.”
Finding Solutions: Community Mediation Center of Lewis County Provides Low-Cost Alternative to Court
By Bryden McGrath
For The Chronicle
When needing to discuss her parenting plan with her ex-husband, one client of the Community Mediation Center of Lewis County decided to give the low-cost service a try.
“It was easy, way easier than court,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be used in the case involving her family.
Started in 1993 by a collection of community members, CMC is a non-profit organization located in Chehalis. As a member of Resolution Washington, a statewide association of 20 dispute resolution centers, CMC offers mediator training and handles cases ranging from small claims to workplace issues — though 90 percent of the cases handled are family-related.
“Our main purpose is to provide mediation services for the community,” said Nancy Core, executive director of the organization, who worked previously as a secretary at Centralia Christian School for almost 19 years. “What that means is we’re not here to make judgments, but we help people have a conversation to resolve their own disputes.”
Despite a weak economy, the organization has moved to a new location to accommodate its new supervised visitation program, called “Connections.”
The program gives parents who need a professional observer to spend time with their children an opportunity to do just that, while providing a safe environment for children. A $2,000 grant from United Way of Lewis County helped train supervisors for the new program.
“We became aware of a need in the community for supervised visitation services because not too many people were offering that in this area,” Core said, adding that beginning the new service meant the need for a larger location.
CMC is funded by Lewis County and the state, with about 12 trained mediators volunteering their time for about 20 to 25 cases a month.
“All of our mediators are volunteers, so that is something that’s really kind of cool because it’s just people in the community that want to give back,” said Janice Juntunen, the organization’s program manager who began mediating and volunteering in 2007.
The low-cost mediation process consists of two-hour sessions with two mediators in the room with the clients. The $200 fee is divided between the clients, with each person paying for half unless the courts have ordered differently.
Each client’s fee is then determined by the government’s sliding scale, meaning mediation could be as low as free. In comparison, CMC cites that startup costs for lawsuits often exceed $10,000.
Core compared the mediation process to being a cook.
“A good cook can walk into a room, and if they have the right ingredients, they can create something,” she said. “But if they walk into the room and they have marshmallow fluff and roast beef — they’re both great ingredients, but they don’t mix very well. (The mediators) are there to mix the right ingredients.”
Both Core and Juntunen agreed that sometimes it just takes an acknowledgement of another person’s point of view to open up the floodgates of communication.
Furthermore, they described that when people are made to be respectful, clients are often surprised at how much they can accomplish.
“Sometimes we’re just setting up the foundations of the house. Sometimes they’re ready for us to set up the whole house,” Core said.
The anonymous client said the organization helped her greatly, and she recommended it to anyone who goes in with an open mind.
“It’s really an alternative route that’s not expensive,” she said. “If you’re willing to sit down and have an open mind and discuss something that you just can’t agree on, it really is an easy solution.”
