Older adults can request EMS services or be referred by community agencies, families, friends, court, and the Senior Support Team of Waterloo Region.
Services are voluntary and at no cost.
CJI’s Elder Mediation Services offers older adults (55+) and their families, friends, care partners, service providers and others in their lives a process to address conflict, elder abuse, and decision-making that affect their vital relationships and their long-term wellbeing. We also provide education and group support to older adults experiencing or risk of conflict.
Through Elder Mediation, older adults can engage with those who caused harm, and their support people, to safely and respectfully discuss how to address harm or conflict. Mediation is helpful for family or neighbour conflict, as well as, financial, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, and neglect.
Co-Mentors provide support for older adults experiencing loneliness, isolation and conflict in their lives. EMS connects older adults a co-mentor with whom they can share their experiences and concerns. In turn, this relationship works to empower older adults to feel safe and supported.
Co-Mentors provide encouragement to develop positive conflict resolution skills and build healthy, positive relationships with others.
Group Services facilitates supportive conversations and skill-building through interactive and engaging events. We offer workshops, games, activities, art projects and recreational opportunities delivered in relationship with housing providers in Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge. Join us for knowledge sharing, cultural learning, and fun.
Most of our mediation services are free. However, we have a sliding fee scale for our workplace mediations and training.
Mediation is a conflict resolution process used to help individuals, families, neighbours, coworkers and classmates to resolve conflict. During a mediation, trained facilitators ensure that everyone has a chance to speak and to listen. Participants discuss how a situation impacted them and ask questions. All are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, listen to others’ perspectives and to repair harm. At the end of the mediation, participants leave with a mutually acceptable plan to move forward.
Forgiveness is not essential to a mediation. In a victim-offender mediation, the full benefit of victim’s needs being met and offender accountability can occur completely without forgiveness.
Mediation is a voluntary process that requires the engagement of all parties involved to be successful. When an inquiry is made, a CJI Service Coordinator will contact all parties to confirm their desire to participate. If there is consensus to proceed with mediation, two mediators are assigned to the case. Mediators have an initial confidential one-on-one meeting with each participant, called case development. During case developments, mediators explore the relationship and the causes of conflict from each participant’s perspective. After case developments are concluded, the mediator will arrange a face-to-face mediation with all participants.
Meeting rooms at CJI’s offices serve well as a neutral location for mediations. Where appropriate, we also host mediations in other neutral spaces such as a community centres. Many of our Elder Mediations occur where older adults are residing – their homes, retirement homes, long term care facilities, etc.
CJI’s mediators are trained and supervised volunteers who have completed the Transformative Mediation Training through Conrad Grebel University College. Mediators work in pairs, co-facilitating with each other. This allows for a matching of skills and experience. The mediators support each other and the participants through the process
Mediation works best if all people involved in a situation participate. Offenders are crucial to the process in that they can answer victims’ questions and can talk with the victim about ways to repair the emotional and material harm (to the degree that it is possible). The process can also be beneficial to the offender as s/he is able to take direct and personal accountability for their actions, as well as learn directly from the victim about the consequences of their actions.
Protecting participants’ safety is our first concern. Our service carefully screens cases for safety before they meet face-to-face. Our mediators also use strategies and specific techniques to ensure that participants are safe. After all options have been exhausted, the face-to-face meeting does not happen if the participants do not feel safe.
A Coordinator will respond to your inquiry to find out how we can help.
Volunteer as an EMS co-mediator or peer co-mentor
CJI creatively, and innovatively applies restorative justice principles to challenging community problems.
All Rights Reserved | Site designed by Left Designs
