Helps others find relief from conflict, stress and anger
Benefits of becoming a volunteer mediator include:
- learning valuable conflict resolution skills
- serving your community in peace-making effort
- growing personally and professionally
- receiving peer support
This opportunity allows you to develop conflict resolution skills that will help you grow personally and professionally — and it’s a way to help people in your community!
We mediate conflict between co-parents, neighbors, businesses and consumers, landlord and tenants, and more.
Mediation sessions are being held remotely through Zoom and may occasionally be held in person once it is safe to do so. * Volunteering for a single mediation session usually requires 2.5 to 3 hours of your time. The mediation session itself is typically 2 hours long. Around 30 minutes may be needed prior to the mediation to prepare for a session with a fellow mediator, and 30 minutes or so may be needed complete and send any necessary paperwork to staff after the mediation session has concluded.
Scheduling is pretty flexible – when we receive a new case, a staff member will reach out to all volunteer mediators (we have around 27 active volunteers) asking if anyone is available during a certain day and time for a mediation. Some mediations happen during the day, and some happen during the evening. We typically have two volunteer mediators facilitating a mediation (co-mediation). New volunteers would be able to observe and learn while they are just starting out.
Another responsibility for volunteers would be attending the peer group training sessions that occur every other month – where updates about our organization and other important information is shared.
We invite volunteers to attend the numerous trainings that we offer (about conflict resolution, racial disparities, and more) as well.
Completing a Rule 114 training course is required to be a volunteer mediator with MARS.
We are offering an Online 30-Hour Civil Mediation Training (Rule 114 Training) this June! Find more information here.
We provide this training at a discounted rate of $150 to volunteers that make a year-long commitment with MARS (if you wish to apply for CLE credit, it is $700). We also offer a pay-as-you-can rate and have a limited amount of scholarships available for those in financial need.
All who are interested in developing mediation and conflict resolution skills are welcome to attend this training.
You do not have to be an attorney to become a mediator.
Community members, attorneys, social workers, city administrators, educators, and human resource professionals are among those who have attended this training in the past – but the only prerequisite to attend is a passion for peaceful conflict resolution.
After completing the Rule 114 training, you can apply to become a Minnesota Qualified Neutral on the Supreme Court Mediation Roster if you wish (but being on the roster is not required in order to practice mediation in MN).
MARS desires to create a team with different life experiences and perspectives. This way, we can have a deeper understanding of the communities we serve. .We encourage all people, including women, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) people, people in the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply – as well as people of varying ages and educational backgrounds. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.
