26-27 Mediation Specialist - Cambridge, MA

The Community Dispute Settlement Center (CDSC) began its work in 1979 as a program of the multi-service Cambridgeport Problem Center, an agency that provided free legal services to low-income households. By the early 1990s, CDSC was an independent agency with alternative dispute resolution programs in local courts offering conflict resolution in small claims, housing, and juvenile matters. Community-referred mediation soon followed, along with a semi-annual training program for would-be mediators. CDSC later created additional programs providing peer mediation in middle and high schools, facilitation services, conflict coaching, and expanded conflict skills workshops for adults and youth. More recently, CDSC expanded its work with landlords and tenants to reduce evictions and homelessness and was chosen by the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration to provide mediation services to people returning to the community after a period of incarceration. - - - CDSC provides mediation and training services to help individuals and organizations resolve conflict, with a special focus on unmet community needs including housing mediations; family and divorce cases; Juvenile Court mediations and restorative sessions that help young people avoid the stigma of a criminal record; and peer mediation programs. CDSC aims to provide skilled, accessible mediation services in Middlesex, Suffolk, and Norfolk County District Courts and Middlesex County Juvenile Court, as well as throughout the community on issues such as divorce, workplace conflict, family disputes, reentry, neighborhood matters, and housing issues. CDSC also provides training and coordination to local school and youth programs and trains at least 500 individuals annually to manage conflict and/or become trained mediators.