EVERETT — Roma Zanders didn’t offer any solutions for the former tenant and his landlord.
She was there to help them talk to each other, maybe work out their differences without going back into a courtroom. She asked them each to explain their side of the story and then asked if they could see a way to resolve the bill. Would they be willing to compromise?
Twenty minutes later, the tenant and the apartment owner shook hands. They settled the bill and a left with a signed agreement.
They wouldn’t have to air their dispute in front of a judge.
“I think people are happier when they find their own solutions,” Zanders said.
The Monroe woman is one of about 120 volunteers who work for the Volunteers of America Dispute Resolution Center of Snohomish, Island and Skagit Counties. The majority of the volunteers are certified mediators who are called on to help people with all sorts of conflicts. The center offers services for resolving family disputes, including divorces or parent and teen conflicts. Mediators are available for neighbor or workplace disputes. They also mediate foreclosures.
Zanders volunteers every Wednesday as a mediator for the small claims court. In Snohomish County, litigants must try mediation before proceeding to trial. Volunteers work in the county’s four district courts.
The volunteers are required to undergo extensive training and must become certified to mediate for the center. Volunteers bear the cost of the training at $795.
“It’s not a casual commitment,” said Christine Corneille, a supervisor at the center. “Most people who volunteer are really looking for an opportunity to feel really good about what they do.”
The center handles about 1,200 cases a year with some referrals coming from the courts. For the first six months of this year, volunteers have worked 1,200 hours at the center. During that same time the center has seen 1,300 clients.
“We definitely rely on our volunteers. There’s absolutely no way we could do it without them,” Corneille said. “We have amazing volunteers.”
Jacob Since, 19, was looking for a chance to give back to the community while a student at Marysville Getchell High School. He also wanted to find an opportunity to learn some practical skills that might be relevant in a career.
Since volunteers every week at the center and helps keep the office running. He enters small claims cases into a database, preps case files and calls clients to remind them about upcoming appointments. He’s volunteered nearly 200 hours since he started last fall.
Next week he’ll start classes at the University of Washington Bothell, majoring in business. He plans to keep volunteering at the center and to take the mediation training.
Zanders, 48, became interested in mediation through a family friend. She volunteered in Arizona and when she moved to Washington she looked for a similar opportunity. She found the dispute resolution center in Everett. She’s been volunteering here for about five years.
Zanders is the lead volunteer Wednesday mornings at the small claims court in Everett.
“It’s a nice part of my week,” she said.
The cases are called in district court and litigants are told they’ll be meeting with a mediator first.
Zanders then explains why she and the other mediators are there. It may be the last chance both sides have to try to work out their differences without involving a judge. She asks the litigants to be respectful and to try to listen to the other side.
“Never underestimate the power of an apology,” Zanders said.
She also mediates other types of disputes. She enjoys helping people hear each other’s point of view and find solutions on their own.
“I’ve had very little conflict in my life. It’s not stressful to me. I think I can see both sides and remain neutral,” she said. “I knew right away this was for me.”
Diana Hefley: 425- 339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
Learn more
Anyone interested in learning more about volunteering with the dispute resolution center should call Christine Corneille at 425-212-3925.
For more information about the services offered by the center, call 425-339-1335.
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