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Mediation News Programs

Rapid Response Mediation Program

The fight against the Novel Coronavirus has created financial hardships for many. Tenants are stretched to pay their rent, and landlords are worried about how to pay their own bills. If landlords and tenants don’t talk now and work out payment plans, they may find themselves fighting in a back-logged eviction process when the moratorium is lifted. To assist in these negotiations and maintain a positive working relationships, there is a service available through community mediation centers, called Rapid Response Mediation Program. The Rapid Response Mediation Program offers mediation through videoconference, telephone, or a secure text-based online platform. An impartial mediator helps property managers or landlords and tenants to discuss a variety of options that will enable landlords to continue receiving some amount of payment and tenants to craft a realistic future for remaining in their home. Because of the immediate community need for this service, the Rapid Response Program is being offered for no cost. If you have tenants or are a tenant that have difficulty paying their rent due to furloughs, layoffs or other complications from the COVID-19 crisis, please call contact the mediation center on your island below and schedule a mediation through this free program. Here is the program flyer. Oahu: The Mediation Center of the Pacific 1301 Young Street, 2nd Floor Honolulu, Hawai`i 96814 Telephone: 808-521-6767 Fax: 808-538-1454 www.mediatehawaii.org Big Island: Ku`ikahi Mediation Center 101 Aupuni Street, Suite PH 1014 B-2 Hilo, Hawai`i 96720 Telephone: 808-935-7844 Fax: (808) 961-9727 www.hawaiimediation.org West Hawai`i Mediation Center P.O. Box 7020 Kamuela, Hawai`i 96743 Telephone: 808-885-5525 Fax: (808) 887-0525 www.whmediation.org    

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Articles Books Tips for Mediators

Book Recommendation by Owen Tamamoto

Public Policy Mediator Susan Podziba shared her wisdom on “Mediating Polarized Public Policy Disputes” at the William S. Richardson School of Law on February 12, 2020. One of her responses to a question left me with the impression that she had never before witnessed such extreme polarization in public policy disputes as in the last several years…it seemed that for some parties the truth no longer matters. She seemed to acknowledge added difficulties in mediating and facilitating resolutions in the current political environment. My daily readings about current events concurred with her description. I could not help but wonder why it might be so. Why don’t facts seem to matter anymore? Why doesn’t it seem to matter that outlandish lies are repeated over and over again and new ones proliferate incessantly? Why do conspiracy theories and fake stories seem to dominate the news? Why doesn’t science seem to matter? Jason Stanley’s book, “How Fascism Works,” gave me a deeper understanding of our current events. The lessons I got are best summarized in the book’s Introduction, excerpts of which are attached. If you are interested in facilitating public policy discussions, or in mediating public policy disputes, or if you simply want to know a bit more about what’s happening in present day politics, this is a must read book. The more we educate ourselves, the more we can use our skills and knowledge to work for a healthier society for all.

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Books Tips for Mediators

If you are looking for books to read…

Message from Matsunaga Institute for Peace… Another great free resource from the Institute for Humane Education for youth sixth grade and up:  The FREE guidebook for youth and changemakers, How to Be a Solutionary: A Guide for People Who Want to Make a Positive Difference. A guidebook that offers a step-by-step process to become a solutionary. Solutionaries are people who can identify problems and their causes, find strategic leverage points for change, and develop and implement solutions that do the most good and least harm for all life. Our world is full of solutionaries just waiting to emerge!  Learning to be skilled researchers, fact-checkers, solutionary thinkers, and successful change agents will provide meaningful and important work for young people, as well as adults, especially at this time of great risk and opportunity for our global community. It will turn a difficult and challenging time into an opportunity to make a powerful difference, build thinking and life skills of great value, and potentially lead to unprecedented learning and action. As you may know, IHE produced a free Solutionary Guidebook for teachers and parents this past winter, and we’re thrilled that more than 800 educators have downloaded it since December, using it to help their students become solutionaries. Now students – and all activists – have their own companion guidebook! 

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Articles Mediation

Abandon default thinking, embrace mediation to build a healthier community

By Gerald S. Clay We are plagued by “default thinking” here in Hawaii and around the world. Over and above every curse which the human race has had to contend with, there is one curse that stands out above all others: the curse of wanting to be right. History has a dismal record of wars waged over the certainty that, “my religion is right”. The thought pattern is this: “If I am right, you cannot also be right.” So, “Because I am right, you need to think the way I think.” How many millions have been killed because of this line of reasoning? This need to be right is a “default thought pattern”. It is what we think automatically without thinking about it. This “default” has been ingrained in our automatic nervous system’s fight, flight or freeze response to perceived survival threats. Thankfully, over the last 40 years, a new thought pattern has emerged that promises better outcomes. This new thought pattern is based on thinking about “what is in my long-term best interest?” Or, even better, what needs do I have to address in order to make me feel more secure? I qualify “best interest” by acknowledging that the decision I choose must not only be in my and your long-term best interest, but must also satisfy my basic human need for security and safety. The Native American people believe that in making decisions now we must look ahead Seven Generations: how will present decisions impact the future interests and needs of my family, community, nation and planet? So, it may be in my short-term best interest to lie. I may score an advantage in an argument or I may get more money. However, lying can never be in my long-term best interest especially if my basic human needs…

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Articles Mediation News Programs

Sharing a Column: “Socially distant mediation can aid landlord, tenant”

By  Tracey Wiltgen and Tom Mitrano Full story is posted at: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/05/03/editorial/insight/tenants-feel-the-squeeze-socially-distant-mediation-can-aid-landlord-tenant/ With thousands of layoffs and furloughs, tenants are stretched to pay their rent, and property owners are worried about how they will pay their mortgage and other bills. If owners and tenants do not talk and work out payment plans, they may find themselves in bitter disputes frustrated by a back-logged eviction process now and then later when the stay-at-home moratorium is lifted. In response, the five mediation centers recently created a joint “Rapid Response Owner-Tenant Mediation Program.” Using videoconference, telephone or a secure online platform, an impartial mediator helps owners and tenants discuss options, such as payment plans, temporary rent reduction, deferred payments, and other creative solutions. The goal is finding a way for owners to receive some fair level of payment that also lets tenants stay at home. The incentive to compromise is clear: Making a plan, even a temporary one, can help relieve fear, uncertainty, and doubt about the future. The community mediation centers are providing the owner-tenant mediation services at no cost to the participants. Mediation cannot solve all problems. But even during a pandemic, mediators need to — and can — use safe, civil, and respectful ways to solve conflicts and take their services, socially distanced, directly to people who want these services, wherever they are.  

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Articles Programs

Looking for a way to offer help for your community?

The Ceeds of Peace Train is now live! We will match those who need digital, learning, and wellness resources with those who have them to spare in our beloved community. Please go to www.ceedsofpeace.org/covid-19-response and share the below with all you know to help us challenge resource inequity on our islands. Aloha!

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Events

Challenges to promote Peace & Peace Building

There are many ways to promote peace and peacebuilding in our daily lives. We came across a couple of different organizations looking for people to participate in their fun challenges to promote peace. In case you are interested: The Peace Studio’s “100 OFFERINGS OF PEACE CAMPAIGN” They are calling artists, storytellers, journalists and media-makers around the world to submit their proposal to create a fresh, contemporary peace offering to be distributed digitally across many media platforms that explores what peace means to you amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and/or brings attention to places in your community where you are experiencing a lack of peace in hopes of inspiring people everywhere to help fill those gaps.  ($250 Commission / Application Deadline is May 15) Apply at: https://thepeacestudio.submittable.com/submit/165772/100-offerings-of-peace-application   The Ohana Arts “#PEACECHALLENGE”  – On MAY 6th, Ohana Arts will be launching a #PEACECHALLENGE social media campaign on Instagram and Facebook. Here is how you can participate:  On WEDNESDAY, MAY 6th, post a picture of a crane (this can be a crane made out of origami, a hand-drawn crane, a clay formation of crane, sewn crane, etc.) and write three words that describe what peace means to you.  Use the #PEACECHALLENGE and tag @ohanaarts and 2 of your friends to also participate in the challenge.  Be as creative as you can be!  

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Events Mediation Tips for Mediators Training Webinar

Upcoming Webinar on ODR

Aloha Conflict Resolution Alliance Members, Hope you are well and thriving while staying at home. We wanted to share information about a webinar coming up next week if you want to learn more about ODR… Incorporating ODR in Your Legal and ADR Practice The ADR and Litigation Sections of the HSBA along with Giuseppe Leone will be presenting a web event/webinar. It will be aimed at helping conflict resolution colleagues and attorneys to learn about and to get comfortable with incorporating video conferencing tools in the practice. More information below and in attachment.   “Incorporating ODR in Your Legal and ADR Practice: a One Hour Presentation and Demo by Giuseppe Leone” Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 12 PM Register for Zoom details at, https://bit.ly/2VQtEMs About the Presenter, Giuseppe Leone:  A leading expert ODR practitioner has been a mediator since 1997, and a Zoom user since 2013. He is also a volunteer mediator for the Mediation Center of the Pacific. Giuseppe offers a 2-hour one-on-one, hands-on training “How to Master Online Mediation via Zoom” to experienced mediators and ADR organizations in the USA and Europe. For more information you can visit his website https://www.virtualmediationlab.com/.

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Articles Mediation News Tips for Mediators

Virtual Alternative Dispute Resolution

As we continue social distancing to fight COVID 19 pandemic, we are all adapting to the new norm to get things done. Association for Conflict Resolution shared a couple of Virtual ADR articles last week: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/management/2020/04/fmcs-says-early-investments-in-virtual-mediation-paying-off-during-pandemic/ https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/video-mediations-the-future-of-36273/ Locally, The Mediation Center of the Pacific started to offer the option long before the pandemic and they are continuing to help community resolve disputes while people are staying at home. (See our past post at http://www.crahawaii.org/news/the-mediation-center-of-the-pacific-is-continuing-to-help-resolve-disputes) We would like to learn how you are innovating in your practice to resolve conflicts and build peaceful relationships in the era of social distancing. Please reach out to us at info@crahawaii.org and let us know. We will feature it in our news page so our community of conflict resolvers can learn from each other and thrive. Stay well!  

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News Webinar

Upcoming Virtual Talk Story Event on April 28, 2020

Aloha, Thank you for joining us for the talk story event last week on Self-Care in the Era of Social Distancing with Dr. Maya Soetoro. It was great to see people from all over the globe! Dr. Soetoro has another virtual talk story next week. In case you are interested,  we are sharing an upcoming virtual community series of events to explore the theme, Building a Beloved Community. The event is hosted by The Institute for Climate & Peace in partnership with Ceeds of Peace & The Matsunaga Institute for Peace. Their first event brings together two peacebuilders for conversation over a cup of tea. Building a Beloved Community (a virtual talk story series) Guests Puanani Burgess and Maya Soetoro Tuesday, April 28, 2020 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM HST Register at https://bit.ly/3eOJUVM   About Guests: Puanani Burgess, the process and design facilitator for Building a Beloved Community and Maya Soetoro, Associate Specialist at the Matsunaga Institute, and Co-Founder of the Institute for Climate and Peace and Ceeds of Peace.