Peace Through Mediation

By Shana Wailana Logan

In this modern world of violence and rampant injustice, there are few solutions more powerful than peaceful mediation. Ancient Hawaiians would call it ho‘oponopono (to make right), a process which allows families and community members to resolve disputes before they escalate into violence or hate.

Today, however, we have the court system deciding many of our disputes—costly for the taxpayer as well as the parties involved.

Mediation is an affordable and more peaceful alternative to this rigid system, offering personalized solutions that are driven by the people themselves, not by judges and lawyers.

Mediation in the Courts

The Honorable Ronald Ibarra, Chief Judge for the Third Circuit on Hawai‘i Island, describes how mediation began in today’s court system and the vital role it plays. “Mediation and arbitration were always available as an alternative to litigation even prior to the legislature and the Supreme Court enacting laws and court rules. Prior to the arbitration law and/or court rule on Alternative Dispute Resolution being passed, a judge would refer a case to mediation upon agreement of the parties. Today, the Circuit Court Rule 12.2 authorizes a judge to refer cases to mediation and arbitration,” he says.

“The cases that are generally favorable for mediation are those where the issues are highly emotional. These include Family Court, i.e., divorce, property settlement, child custody. In District Court, landlord-tenant dispute and small claims. In Circuit Court, cases that involve boundary disputes, complex litigation where the cost of litigation may be higher than the monetary value of the case. Mediation would be less costly and would resolve the matter quicker than litigation,” he says.

Hawai‘i Island Mediation Centers

There are two independent mediation sites on Hawai‘i Island that are utilized by the court system: the West Hawai‘i Mediation Center (WHMC) in Waimea, serving Nā‘ālehu to ‘Ō‘ōkala and the Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center (KMC) in Hilo, serving East Hawai‘i.

For decades, they have been facilitating dispute resolution, assisting individuals and groups finding solutions and achieving their goals.

“We empower people to come together—to talk and to listen, to explore options, and to find their own best solutions. To achieve this mission, we offer mediation, facilitation, and training to strengthen the ability of diverse individuals and groups to resolve interpersonal conflicts and community issues,” says KMC Executive Director Julie Mitchell.

“Our type of mediation is called ‘facilitative mediation’ and we use the Hawai‘i diamond model. That means that we start out in joint session and then move into private sessions at the beginning, in the information gathering phase (top of the diamond). After a mediator caucus, we continue in private sessions and then re-gather in a joint session, in the negotiation phase (bottom of the diamond),” she says.

Ku‘ikahi means “treaty, covenant, agreement, feeling of unity, peace, and reconciliation” in Hawaiian. The mediation centers do this well, and provide quality, low and even no-cost mediation services.

Funded by the Hawai‘i State Judiciary, the Hawai‘i State Attorney General, the County of Hawai‘i, the Hawai‘i Island United Way, and countless other community donors such as the Cooke Foundation and the HEI Charitable Foundation, they are able to help those who cannot afford the cost of these services.

“The mediation centers provide a great public service,” says Judge Ibarra. “The cost to mediate is extremely reasonable,” he added. “WHMC is committed to ensuring that all Hawai‘i Island residents have equal access to justice, which is why we provide our services for free or low-cost,” says WHMC Executive Director Zaheva Knowles. “While we provide our services to all West Hawai‘i residents, more than 50% of those we serve have incomes of $21,000 or less per year. This tells us that community mediation centers play a critical part in the public legal services framework in Hawai‘i.”

Mediators

At the centers, volunteer mediators are well trained to facilitate dispute resolution. Kenith Simmons is a retired English Professor from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, and has been a volunteer mediator at Ku‘ikahi since the 1990s, after she, herself, received mediation services at the center.

“The service to the community out of this place is phenomenal. The listening skills I learned in mediator training from the Mediation Center have helped me greatly in my work as a volunteer mediator,” Kenith says. “We are there to listen and to help both parties articulate their concerns. We try to help them find common ground and a mutually satisfactory solution to the problem.…and they do. It’s hard work, but as the fear level goes down, and the process goes along, it eventually works out. Even when there is not an agreement, people are still glad to be able to tell their side of the story. What they need is just to be heard.”

Community members are invited to become volunteer mediators by attending a center-sponsored Basic Mediation Training. KMC offers this training in the fall and WHMC in the spring.

Mediators are also now present in some of Hawai‘i’s public schools. WHMC started its program almost 15 years ago with an emphasis on elementary students.

In 2012, in response to unsettling data about bullying, depression, and violence in Hawai‘i’s middle and high schools, WHMC initiated a peer mediation pilot program aimed at serving these students, starting at Kohala Middle School and rapidly expanding between 2013 and 2015.

In the 2015–2016 school year, WHMC’s peer mediation program trained 252 peer mediators, potentially impacting 5,210 students at 14 West Hawai‘i schools. Three additional schools are slated to start programs in the 2016–2017 school year.

“We are very proud of our peer mediation program and our partnership with the Department of Education,” says Zaheva. “Following the success of the peer mediation program, we are now looking to expand our youth programs by developing a school-based restorative justice pilot program that is grounded in Hawaiian cultural values and practices such as ho‘oponopono.”

“This process has proven effective in schools around the United States and in Hawai‘i, changing the way students understand and resolve conflict in their lives,” says KMC’s Julie. “During the 2015–2016 school year, Ku‘ikahi’s peer mediation trainings taught 174 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders at six elementary schools critical communication skills such as active listening, restating, and brainstorming solutions.” Common disputes include gossiping, bullying, and fighting.

“Changes include improved self-esteem, listening, and critical thinking skills, and school climate for leaning, as well as reduced disciplinary actions and fewer fights,” says Julie. “These skills are transferable outside the classroom.”

Foreclosure Assistance

In 2015–2016, WHMC mediated more than 350 court-and self-referred cases and provided foreclosure mediation services to more than 40 families facing the loss of their homes through foreclosure.

Hilo resident Kaloa Robinson was referred by the Circuit Court to Ku‘ikahi for help mediating his mortgage foreclosure. After working in various government and community positions for many years in Washington D.C, O‘ahu, and Hawai‘i Island, Kaloa was poised to take on the world. His future was bright as he lived, worked, and raised his family on Hawai‘i Island for years until he found out he had cancer. He had to leave the island for six months for treatment at the MD Anderson Cancer Treatment Center in Texas.

As time went on, he could not work due to his continued treatments—and soon the airfare to the mainland was draining his bank account, which made it hard to pay his mortgage. He says his bank was no help, losing important documents and providing shoddy customer service, adding undue stress for Kaloa and his family.

The solution for him was to participate in Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center’s Foreclosure Mediation Program.

“Ku‘ikahi helped us navigate through the bank’s processes, even finding a contact person to send all our documents to, so they wouldn’t get lost,” he says. “They were very diligent. It took several months, but we finally got through it with their help.” “Healing came from a place of peace, and miracles helped us through it,” Kaloa says, speaking of the enormous assistance he received during his time of need from his friends, family and the center.

“Together with the West Hawai‘i Mediation Center, our joint Foreclosure Mediation Program has helped approximately 200 families to save their homes. Approximately 85 additional families were able to leave gracefully, on their own terms, by negotiating short sales, deeds in lieu of foreclosure, and cash for keys,” says Julie.

Community Education

The mediation centers also offer trainings to the public through various venues.

“We are very proud of our ‘Finding Solutions, Growing Peace’ free Brown Bag Lunch Series held at the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney in Hilo. This has been a vibrant lunch-and-learn opportunity that has grown significantly since we started it a year ago. We’ve had a series of fascinating speakers on a wide variety of topics related to communication and transforming conflict,” Julie says.

They also offer more public workshops and trainings, including professional development seminars. These educational programs empower people with the skills they need to promote peaceful solutions at home, in the workplace, and throughout our communities.

WHMC provides similar trainings and workshops for West Hawai‘i residents and volunteer mediators. Recent offerings include a domestic violence prevention training and a training on landlord/tenant issues offered in partnership with the Legal Aid Society in Kailua-Kona.

Find Your Solutions, Be Empowered

For anyone seeking a more peaceful resolution to their personal or pubic dispute, mediation is a proven method of finding solutions and bringing about renewed harmony in our community and our private lives.

As global citizens, we know that conflict often starts locally, and now, with the help of social media, small disputes can bring about large-scale outrage and discord both nationally and internationally. Therefore, it is good to be armed with the power to extinguish the hate that follows many unresolved issues, and use peaceful resolution as an important tool to bring about true change.

Kaloa is grateful he chose mediation to resolve his dispute. “Ku‘ikahi Mediation, through their expert volunteers, helped guide me through a corporate maze…without having to hire an attorney,” he says. “The volunteers at Ku‘ikahi were experts in their field and knew how to streamline and navigate us to resolutions.”

If you or someone you know needs help with a dispute in court, may be bound for court, or may be outside of the court system, you are encouraged to seek out mediation as a proven, affordable process. No one is denied services due to an inability to pay.

Contact the West Hawai‘i Mediation Center or the Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center for more information on how you, too, can be empowered by peace. ❖

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Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center
101 Aupuni St., Suite PH 1014 B-2, Hilo
808.935.7844

West Hawai‘i Mediation Center
65-1291 Kawaihae Road, Suite 202, Kamuela
Waimea: 808.885.5525 • Kailua-Kona: 808.326.2666

Contact writer Shana Wailana Logan