Student-Led Peer Mediation (SLPM) is one of our shining programs, training middle and high school aged youth to act as neutral mediators.
Research from the U.S. Department of Education tells us that youth at participating schools have seen a 90% reduction in assaults and a 73% reduction in expulsions, along with reductions in disciplinary actions and initial drug use. At our partner schools, teens in conflict work with a SLPM-trained student mediator to uncover the root causes of their disputes and together decide on fair ways of resolving conflict. This multifaceted program makes conflict resolution training accessible and free to participating students through partnering with local schools and trainings through local libraries.
So far this year, we have trained 30 student mediators who have held 6 mediations, and we consistently receive positive feedback from all of our partner schools:
• McKinley Classical Leadership Academy has both middle and high school students, and they have had great success having high school-aged Peer Mediators mediate middle school student disputes.
• The staff sponsor at Confluence Preparatory High School has told us that she believes the Student Led Peer Mediation Program has changed the culture at the school. The students know they have a safe space to solve disputes, and they learn skills from their Peer Mediator classmates who mediate a variety of cases involving gossip, relationships, and friendship conflicts.
This Give STL Day we are raising the funds to expand our services to reach even more students throughout St. Louis City and County. We believe our SLPM programming gives student mediators a strong foundation to take peacebuilding work into adulthood. Our hope is that this work sows the seeds for a community-focused future that is fair, accountable, and peaceful for all. For educators and those working with youth, feel free to visit peermediation.net for all of our open source materials.
About us...
CRCSTL is dedicated to helping the St. Louis community resolve conflicts and disputes more peacefully. Our services are free, confidential, and a safe space to be heard. We are an organization dedicated to servicing the community and we take the stewardship of our funding seriously. The most recent audit of CRCSTL found that we were 90% programs and 10% administrative. This tells us that of every dollar we spent, $.90 went directly towards supporting our programming.
Mediation turns adversaries into collaborators, working together to find solutions. Alongside our Student-Led Peer Mediation program, we also offer a wide array of services specializing in mediations or conflict coaching for individuals and the community at large. Some of our most common cases include landlord-tenant or neighbor-to-neighbor conflicts, and we also offer a suite of workplace solutions for nonprofit and corporate clients. Our education programs provide the opportunity for individuals to train to become community mediators and conflict coaches, gaining the skills to help build peace in our community.
Conflict Resolution Center-St. Louis is Where Conflicts Find Solutions.
