PCC funding boost for Mediation Plus

Mediation Plus was one of over 60 local organisations awarded grants totaling almost £300,000 from the Safer in Sussex Community Fund by Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne in Lewes last week from more than 90 applications made to the fund.

Working together with colleagues from community mediation services in Brighton, Hastings and West Sussex to make a joint bid as the Sussex Mediation Alliance, the application had to demonstrate support for the priorities set out in the PCC's Police and Crime Plan, including tackling antisocial behavior and addressing community priorities such as drug and alcohol harm, as well as reducing reoffending and the impact of domestic abuse and hate crime.

The Sussex Mediation Alliance was awarded funding of £30,000 to support the four services, who together provide domestic, intergenerational and family mediation services across East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove. The will help to ensure the continued provision of voluntary dispute resolution to residents and communities across the county.

Clive Gross, Mediation Plus Service Manager said: "This funding is vital to help preserve our work with our local Neighbourhood Policing Teams in Eastbourne and Wealden, providing them with a valuable early-intervention service that can prevent disputes escalating and ending in serious incidents. Over 600 community mediation referrals are serviced every year across Sussex. Mediation can help to assist in the prevention of crime and reduce the levels of crime and antisocial behavior as well as addressing the fear of crime. Police officers are also offered suitable training on how to make appropriate referrals to mediation and how to encourage parties to take part, prior to any intervention."

"By working together as the Sussex Mediation Alliance, we can offer community based mediation and conflict resolution services to individuals, organisations and agencies across both counties to a high and consistent standard of services in terms of quality and working practices.

Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne added: "I am delighted with the initial response to the Fund. The sheer number of applications received reflects the huge number of local organisations and community groups who are committed to keeping Sussex safe.

“I will be closely following the progress of these projects over the coming months to monitor the real impact they are delivering for residents in Sussex.”

AGM marks successful year for Mediation Plus

Members of MediationPlus gathered last week at their Annual General Meeting in Hailsham to celebrate seven successful years as the community mediation service for Eastbourne and Wealden. After having come close to closure in early 2011 due to funding cuts, Chair of Trustees Barbara Molog presented the charity’s latest Annual Report which showed a year of continued progress in delivering mediation services across the area – including the Time 2 Talk service for young people and their families – and developing community based mediation training projects to spread mediation skills into new areas.

Presenting her report to the meeting, Barbara said “The past year has seen steadily growth in our activities while keeping a very tight reign on expenditure. Our success in renewing the funding of our Time2Talk service with BBC Children in Need has provided a key platform on which to develop that service over the next three years, while support from Wealden District Council, Eastbourne Borough Council, Wealden and Eastbourne Community Safety Partnerships, and other Parish and Town Councils has ensured we have been able to support the costs of an increased number of neighbour dispute referrals during the year.”

Barbara thanked retiring Trustees Pam Hart and David Hines for their work over the past 12 months and welcomes new Trustees Caroline Adcock and Wendy Shuttleworth who were elected at the meeting. The meeting also welcomed Sussex Police new Wealden District Commander Gary Pike to the new Mediation Plus Board as the service continues to develop close working relationships with their local Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

Delivering his report, Service and Development Manager Clive Gross highlighted the success of the two pilot community mediation training projects that have been delivered in 2013 and the recruitment of two cohorts of new accredited volunteer mediators to the service.

Special Guest Speaker Miriam Wilkinson from 3VA’s Speak-Up Forum then told the meeting about a new project looking to develop the use of Restorative Justice in Sussex and how mediators and mediation skills could be used to help deliver it. Clive Gross added “We are very excited to be part of this project as Restorative Justice is very close to our work in resolving disputes without the need for legal action. We hope it will become part of what we can offer the local community over the coming years in conjunction with our local partners.”

Mediation skills training aims to support local community

A group of nine participants have successfully completed the first pilot community outreach mediationskills training course run by Mediation Plus at the Willingdon Trees Community Centre last week.

Supported by funding from the Sussex Community Foundation, Mediation Plus adapted their accredited mediation course to meet the needs of learners from a wide range of backgrounds who would benefit from having these skills in their professional and working lives.

The group included a Community Officer and Neighbourhood Advisor from Eastbourne Borough Council, a PCSO who helps co-ordinate the Police to response to neighbour disputes, two volunteers from a local community drop-in centre, an agency nurse, and local a provider of accommodation to ex-offenders.

Mediation Plus Service Manager Clive Gross commented “This successful pilot course demonstrates just how much value mediation skills can have in so many different areas, and we are really pleased that we have been able to deliver them to people who are supporting so many different groups in the local community.”

The new mediators all completed the twelve week training and will now have the opportunity to work with members of Mediation Plus’s experienced mediation team taking on new cases across Eastbourne to practice their skills and work to complete their full accreditation from the Open College Network.

Joan Eades, Training Manager at Mediation Plus said “We have been looking at how we can offer mediation training in the wider community to people who would not be able to attend our regular volunteer training courses and have been delighted that we have been able to work with people from such diverse backgrounds in our first course. We are very keen to build on this in the future.”

Mediation Plus would like to hear from other community and voluntary groups, front-line support organisations or individuals who think they could benefit from gaining mediation skills so they can look to develop further courses. Anyone interested should contact Joan Eades at Mediation Plus on 01323 442781 or email training@mediation-plus.org.uk for an initial discussion.

Sussex Police make £400 donation to Mediation Plus

East Sussex Division Superintendant, Neil Honnor presented a cheque for £400 to Wealden and Eastbourne's community mediation service Mediation Plus. The Hailsham based charity, which has been assisting neighbours and families in dispute since 2006, relies on donations and grant funding to maintain their service to local communities.

Mediation Plus Service Manager Clive Gross said "We are very grateful for the donation and continued support from our local Police service. At a time of cuts in public funding, contributions like this are even more valuable in helping the service to survive and will go towards us keeping our volunteer mediators active in the area."

Superintendant Neil Honnor said, “Sussex Police fully support schemes like Mediation Plus and this donation will hopefully go in some small part in helping them to continue the excellent work across Wealden and Eastbourne”.

The donation comes from the Police Property Act Fund, made up of money received by the police from property confiscated by order of court and then sold if an owner cannot be identified.