New groups to promote neighborly peace
This article appeared in the AV Press, Saturday, August 8, 2009
By Daisy Ratzlaff
Valley Press Staff Writer
LANCASTER – Palmdale and Lancaster officials hope a newly-instated mediation program resolving neighborhood disputes will help foster greater communications between neighbors and relieve courts, code enforcement and sheriff’s department personnel of having to deal with issues pertaining to matters residents could otherwise solve themselves.
Darren Parker, president of the Antelope Valley Human Relations Commission, said residents who have complaints about their neighbors’ cars being parked on their front lawns or overgrown tree branches that grow into their yards now have an alternative option rather than notifying city or deputies to handle “the more civil rather than criminal matter.”
“This program is designed to help neighbors who are in dispute at no cost to them t solve their problem in order to build safer, better and stronger neighborhoods,” Parker said.
The mediation program, which runs under the Neighbor Dispute Resolution Program, was developed by the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich and the Antelope Vally Human Relations Commission as well as Lancaster and Palmdale city officials. It officially began operation Thursday and will allow residents to call a special hot line and ask for one of 20 mediators and four senior mediators to help resolve neighbor-to-neighbor problems, Parker said.
“we found out that one out of every three cases that the task force deals with may at some point have started as a neighborhood dispute,” he said. “We are happy that we have law enforcement with us, and it looks like it will take the work off their desks and put in the proper place, where the issues can be addressed on a one-on-one basis.”
Mediators are simply residents with an interest in helping fellow residents and neighbors solve problems. The voluntary position does require training, said Anne Ambrose, Palmdale’s director of public safety and community relations.
“This program is a great way to resolve conflicts. Most of the time neighbors are just not communicating well; there is a breakdown in communication,” she said. “Offering mediation is an opportunity to bring people to the table and give the parties who are involved in the conflict the power to resolve it. That’s what we all want; we all want control over our own destiny. And mediation will give them the opportunity to do that.”
The mediation program is a private, voluntary process in which an impartial person facilitates communication between two or more parties to promote settlement. Each person has an opportunity to explain problems from his perspective in a mediation session; the mediator is simply present to help facilitate discussions to achieve mutuality, Parker said.
Mediation sessions are scheduled a a time and location convenient to all parties, said Kelvin Tainatongo, Lancaster’s assistant to the city manager.
“The key is to get the parties together and give them a chance to talk about the issues,” Tainatongo said. “That’s why the city is offering the Stanley Kleiner Activity Center at Lancaster City Park on two Saturdays within a month. It’s a neutral place where individuals can find a peaceful resolution and come to a mutual agreement.
“We have a lot of residents that contact the city because of issues that they have with their neighbors, but most of the time they are not criminal issues. With the mediation program we can now refer them to the task force.”
Parker said the program, which will start out on the weekends and might be moved to weekdays depending on the demand, will work closely with other resources to help solve the problems.
“We will analyze the situation from every angle possible. We want to stop the issues before they escalate into something else,” he said. “If we find that there is enough evidence to point at a criminal case, may it be a hate crime or something else, we will contact the Sheriff’s Department and they will investigate further.”
Bishop Henry Hearns, pastor at the Living Stone Cathedral in Littlerock and one of the founders of the program, said he has no doubt the program will have a big difference in the Antelope Valley.
“The more we get together, the happier we are,” he said. “This (program) will make it happen.”
For details about the program or to schedule a mediation sessions, call (877) 7AT-PEACE.
Discussion Area - Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.