ELDER MEDIATION PROJECT
EMP for Empowerment

by

Yvonne Craig

Peer helping has given Canada a "well-earned and world-wide reputation as a peace keeper and mediator" as described by Rey Carr (1994) in the Peer Counsellor Journal (p. 7). So, after speaking about Elder Mediation at the 1994 Oregon National Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution, I was inspired by an old friend, Dean Peachey of the Ontario Network for Community Justice, to visit British Columbia, a long-standing wish of my 70 years!

In Victoria I met the Premier and his Minister for Seniors and learned from the deparmental director, Catherine Luke, of the important developments in peer counselling throughout the Province. I also visited the University of Victoria Dispute Resolution Centre and heard about their cross-cultural aims. Pearl Mackenzie and her associates in Vancouver greatly impressed me with their pioneering peer work in the prevention of elder abuse.

My own doctoral research focused on the theory that at the early stages of conflict in elder relations, mediation can contribute to the prevention of elder abuse. This is why I liked Grey Owl's (1994) article, A Transition Perspective, which showed how peer helping at critical stages in lifeÕ's difficulties and crises can help people cope.

The transition theme was a foundation in my past life as a social worker, counsellor, and mediator, and continues even more so in pioneering elder mediation in Britain. Older persons also face transition issues. Whether it be in the difficulties and trauma that occur when they lose a spouse, become dependent on younger families, try to live independently with community care (or mis-care), or move to residential institutions, elders experience transitions.

If conflict is suppressed or exacerbated, relationships can become painfully poisoned or erupt into threats and violence. The American solution has been to develop Adult Protective Services legislation, as have four Canadian provinces. However, British Columbia has noted American dissatisfaction with its own inadequate constructive services is bringing people together to find preventive approaches. Peer counselling is amongst these.

In Britain peer counselling is strong, and initiatives in peer advocacy are growing. Mediation UK, our national voluntary organisation which promotes community, educational, environmental, family, and victim-offender mediation, amongst other interests, is now extending its existing work with and for older persons. Many of these persons are already excellent volunteer mediators! A multicultural group of us have started to carry our developing Elder Mediation Project (EMP) ideas forward.

I was privileged to study the important American work in starting senior mediation services pioneered by the American Bar Association and the National Institute of Dispute Resolution. I visited centres in black Atlanta and poor, white Kansas where seniors ran peer mediation services. I worked at a large San Francisco public hospital for mainly older adults and a multicultural Oakland (California) nursing home, where volunteer ombudsmen and some staff had been trained in mediation.

Unfortunately, during America's recession, funds were lacking to continue these projects, but the work is developing elsewhere. There were also "turf" problems with existing helping services.

In Britain we are seeking to adapt what we have learned to our own situation. Firstly, as a main ethical principle of mediation, we are encouraging older persons to develop their natural skills in managing their own conflicts. We offer to run conflict resolution workshops for all social groups working with and for elders.

	Ten Tips for Coping with Conflict (Courtesy Elder Mediation Project)	1. Deal directly and quietly with those involved. 2. Suggest a mutually convenient time to discuss differences. 3. Give thanks and respect people for agreeing to discuss the difficulties. 4. Describe the facts as you see them and tell how you feel about the situation. 5. Listen carefully to other peopleÕs accounts without interruption. 6. Check out with each other that you have understood the root causes of the difficulties and your individual needs in peacemaking. 7. Offer to cooperate in finding mutually acceptable solutions to the situation. 8. Discuss all issues, the hard as well as the easy ones, in order to gain successful resolution. 9. Consider writing out and signing any agreement on complex issues. 10. Suggest further discussions if there is a need to check improvements.

Secondly, we encourage ageing organisations to develop a small core of older persons trained in elder mediation to offer help in peer relations. We also suggest that these organisations develop outreach into institutions where over-worked and under-paid staff, as well as their residents, find it difficult to cope appropriately with conflict.

Thirdly, we offer mediation skills training to professional social workers, counsellors, and medical, nursing, and caring personnel to supplement their own expertise. Thus we are not empire building, but offering peer supportive services to others already working at the interface of elder relations so that they can develop their own EMPs!

In multicultural Britain we have a special commitment to learning from and working with under-represented groups, including AIDS/HIV sufferers who now have 11% of their population over 50. One of my prized possessions is a Talking Stick, carved by my Greenpeace son, after he had heard of its value in Canadian First Nations tribal meetings. I shall always equally prize any further networking with the exciting and excellent Canadian peer movement!

Mrs. Yvonne Craig, MA, JP, is with the Elder Mediation Project, 27 Ridgmount Gardens, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7AS (Great Britain).

References
Carr, R. (1994). Peer helping in Canada. Peer Counsellor Journal, 11, 1, 6-9.
Grey Owl (1994). A transition peer program. Peer Counsellor Journal, 11, 1, 29-30.