Whatcom County Superior Court recently issued a local standing order opting into the statewide Eviction Resolution Pilot Program (ERPP). The Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center (WDRC) is working with deliberate speed and care to coordinate with program partners and finalize program policies and procedures that are in compliance with the new order. In the interim, WDRC remains available to provide services for both landlords and tenants affected by the impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic.
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As the COVID-19 pandemic continued on into a new school year, making our typical classroom workshops difficult to coordinate, the WDRC Youth Program wanted to find a new way to connect with youth in our community and help them develop their conflict resolution skills.
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If you could pick one conversation to do over from this past year, what would it be? Perhaps wished you’d articulated your points more clearly, or listened more compassionately or stayed with the discomfort for longer.
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The WDRC is pleased to announce the launch of the Safe Spaces program! This program provides a place to be heard - an alternative access point for community members who feel unable, unwilling, or previously unsuccessful in bringing their complaint directly to City of Bellingham departments.
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The WDRC is grateful to work with a wonderful and expansive group of dedicated volunteers, board members, and donors whose contributions support collaborative approaches to conflict, even while facing some of the most difficult and urgent challenges our community has ever seen. This year, we would like to publicly recognize a few of our outstanding supporters whose efforts have significantly promoted our shared vision for Whatcom County: a community in which people approach conflict in creative and healthy ways.
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Responding to the community’s call for an accessible space to talk about promoting equity and justice within our community, The Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center partnered with the Whatcom Community Foundation (WCF) to sponsor the “Exploring Equity and Cultural Humility” community training on Thursday, July 9th, 2020 for up to 50 attendees.
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The WDRC has an expansive program and community of mediators, practicum students, and mediators in training. Each month, we hold an in-service opportunity to promote continued learning and connection for our cohort of mediators. In response to this desire to continue these regular gatherings, Gayle, our Mediation Program Manager, designed our first virtual mediator in-service event.
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Our Youth Program is committed to working with youth in the Juvenile Court System. When restrictions were put into place to protect the health and safety of community members, it appeared that this would mean the end of our already in-progress class titled Healthy Choices. However, understanding the importance of the classes in the lives of the youth we work with and the value that these courses add to our community, our staff committed to pivot to ensure that these courses could be continued virtually.
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We asked Amanda Semenoff, a certified mediator, to share some conflict resolution tips and tricks with us. Read more to find some helpful tricks about listening - something that is hard to do, but is an important first step in any conflict!
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