40-hour Performance-based Mediation Skills Training

It appears that I am going through a semi-rut right now, so I am taking steps to add more positive things in my life. Before I started working seven years ago, I was very active in community service and volunteering because it really is a great way for one person to make a small difference in the world. In addition to a few other things that I am doing in my life, I decided to go back into volunteering...but now the question is doing what???

There are so many options out there, and when I was younger, I was caught spreading myself a tad thin trying to do as many activities as I could physically do. I have more responsibilities now, and I need to manage my time more wisely...so through a suggestion from a friend, I decided to do something using my professional skills. The rationale is that I have a somewhat specialized skill, and it makes more sense to contribute in a way that is a tiny bit more unique and personal to me. When looking at public interest / pro bono volunteer opportunities, I came across a listing for a volunteer mediator for the Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR) in Chicago:

"Once trained and certified, CCR volunteers mediate a wide array of cases. As a mediator gains experience, the volunteer can move to other programs to handle different types of cases. For example, CCR volunteers mediate a variety of cases including:

• Adult Criminal Misdemeanor matters
• Juvenile Criminal Misdemeanor matters
• Landlord/Tenant disputes both in and outside of court
• Neighbor disputes
• Small Claims Civil matters in the Cook County Court
• Cases pending in Chancery and Law Divisions of Cook County Court
• Sexual Harassment claims for the City of Chicago
• Matrimonial-Fee disputes
• Parenting Agreements
• Community disputes"

The volunteers would participate a couple times a month, and it seems like a good way to spend my free time, and it would be a little bit of a departure from all the research and writing that I do on a daily basis at my work. But then here's the catch...you have to do the 40-hour Performance-based Mediation Skills Training at the CCR and pass a test to qualify as a volunteer...and it costs $1300!!! Yikes. Luckily (or unluckily - depending on how you view things), I currently make peanuts, so I did qualify for a scholarship after writing an essay, which reduced my cost to $650. Okay, still a bit steep since I was only doing this for volunteering, but then I found out that I can get Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits for this! 33 hours, 4 of which are ethics/professionalism, I just have to pay an additional $33. Okay, so now the $$$ didn't seem too horrible since my part of the alphabet is coming due in June 2008.

I actually have a couple friends that have done this exact training while they were either in law school or just after they graduated. Both of them have said that it is a very intense and immersive program, so I should be prepared for that. I like intense and immersive, so hopefully the 40 hours will be a good experience for me. The training is May 1, 2, 8, 9, and 10 from 8:30 am to 5 pm each day. They also have a session coming up in June. If you are interested, their info is below. I will report back later with an update on my actual experience.

Center for Conflict Resolution
11 E. Adams, Suite 500
Chicago, Illinois 60603
Phone: 312-922-6464
Fax: 312-922-6463
Website: http://www.ccrchicago.org/