Dispute Resolution Center of Thurston County

Mission

Our Mission:
The Dispute Resolution Center empowers people to resolve their disputes by providing conflict resolution services and training community members in those skills.

Our Vision:
We envision a South Sound community that has and uses healthy and respectful conflict resolution skills.

Description

Please help the next generation build resilience, navigate conflict, and communicate more effectively by supporting the DRC's Youth Empowerment Services.

The DRC’s vision of a South Sound community that has and uses healthy and respectful conflict resolution and communication skills cannot be complete without our young people. The COVID-19 pandemic – and its impacts on schools - forced an end to our thriving Youth Empowerment Services (YES) program in 2020, and we have been working to re-build our capacity to respond to requests from area schools and youth service organizations. 

The YES program offers a variety of training and school support opportunities for youth of all ages in our community.  We teach youth that disagreement is a normal, healthy part of life, and provide skills to navigate conflict in healthy, productive ways through:

-  Peacemaker Clubs

- Conflict Prevention Curriculum

-  Peer Mediation

-  Restorative Circles

We have received a steady flow of requests from schools, youth organizations and community members for our services because they report noticing a change in school culture, and that students are less able to handle conflict in the post-pandemic world. 

The financial support of community members, like you, is critical to our efforts help the next generation build resilience, navigate conflict, and communicate effectively.  This investment in our young people will yield dividends for years to come in the form of a more civil and peaceful society.

Civic Harmony Starts Here!

Since 1991, the Dispute Resolution Center of Thurston County (DRC) has advanced a vision of a South Sound community that has and uses healthy and respectful conflict resolution skills.  That's a legacy of 32 years of empowering our neighbors to repair relationships, resolve disagreements, and communicate with respect and civility.  

Community-based conflict resolution is an essential service.  Dispute resolution helps resolve conflict upstream, before it escalates to courts, eviction, violence, or police intervention.  The DRC's community-building role is now more vital than ever.  

Our Services

The DRC serves residents of Thurston and south Mason Counties through a variety of resources for individuals, families, businesses and organizations, and the broader community, to help manage and resolve conflict, to prevent conflict when possible, and to create a more civil and peaceful community.  In addition to our YES program, the DRC's services include:

- Mediation - Our trained and certified mediators serve as impartial facilitators to help people in conflict work toward mutually beneficial agreements.

- Conflict Resolution Resource Line - We provide conflict coaching, information and referrals, and arrange face-to-face mediations.

- Housing Support - We provide voluntary landlord-tenant mediation and renter certification classes to help people maintain housing stability.  

- Group Facilitation - We help work teams and other groups run orderly and productive meetings to achieve key goals.

- Training - We offer training for individuals and organizations to build healthy communication skills, prevent conflict when possible, and resolve conflict when it occurs.

- Restorative Justice Facilitated Dialogue - We partner with Thurston County Therapeutic Courts to help individuals affected by crime engage in difficult conversations to heal the harms caused.

Our Impact

In 2023 the Dispute Resolution Center of Thurston County:

 -  Served more than 7,151 people through mediation, conflict coaching, information & referral, group facilitation, training and community presentations;

 -  Handled 908 eviction resolution and other landlord-tenant cases, impacting more than 2,000 adults and children; and

-  Trained more than 1,500 people in mediation, communication, conflict prevention and conflict resolution skills.

Our Volunteers
The DRC's services are made possible by the efforts of more than 130 dedicated volunteers, including 90 certified mediators, who provide thousands of hours of service to our community.

Our Reach
The DRC of Thurston County is one of 21 dispute resolution centers serving communities across Washington State, working collaboratively through our umbrella organization, Resolution Washington.

Recognition

The DRC is powered by a dedicated community of supporters and volunteers who share a commitment to foster civility, respect, and peace.
Our efforts are made possible by many individuals, businesses and organizations who have made an investment in our mission through their volunteer, financial, in-kind and service partnership support.