Volunteer Information

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in becoming a volunteer mediator at St. Stephen's Community House Conflict Resolution Service (CRS). Please fill out the
Volunteer Mediator Application Form and submit it to us with your resume.

Criteria for selecting volunteer mediators:

We receive many more applications than we can accommodate. We select mediators based on the needs of our program for particular skills or backgrounds. In order to help us adequately serve the diverse population of Toronto we look for people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, ages, sexual orientations, classes, people who can speak more than one language, and have a strong commitment to social justice. We also need people with community experience and those from various professional backgrounds.

There are no formal academic requirements to be a volunteer CRS mediator – life experience and a sincere interest in conflict resolution are as important as any job experience or degree. The only firm requirement is that candidates be fluent in English, since the training and most mediations are carried on in English.

Other criteria we consider include:

• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Experience working independently and in a team
• Availability and flexibility of your time
• Particular cultural backgrounds and languages (based on current needs)
• Particular professional backgrounds (based on current needs)
• Mediation training and experience

Selection process:

From time to time we review the applications and schedule interviews. Those applicants who we do not interview are sent a letter of regret. We welcome people to re-apply in the future if their circumstances change.

Training of our mediators:

Successful applicants are required to attend a three-day training course that teaches the model of mediation practised at CRS. This training is free for selected volunteers. Once this training is successfully completed we will begin to assign cases to you. You will work in twos and threes with more experienced mediators to continuing learning 'on the job.'

Following the three-day training and your first few cases, we will set up a meeting to provide feedback and evaluation. If everything is working out we will continue to include you in our mediator pool. On the basis of these evaluations we may occasionally decide that a mediator should no longer continue with the program.

Time commitment:

We expect that mediators will be able to provide an average of 6-10 hours per month, with a two year volunteer commitment.

Internship opportunity:

We also have a six-month full-time Case Management Internship. If you would like to be considered for this, please indicate your interest in your cover letter.

Regular training courses in mediation:

Please remember that everyone is welcome to register for our regular training workshops at anytime whether accepted as a mediator in our program or not. We look forward to receiving your application.

Thank you for your interest in our program. We respond to every application and this process may take several months. So, please do not hesitate to call us to check the status of your application or to update us on changes in your situation.