The Mediation Center of the Coastal Empire is currently seeking support for their Youth Programs. Volunteers would support Peer Mediators, the Positive Peer Influencer Program, Restorative Youth Court and encourage local youth to develop the skills to resolve conflict successfully. Free training is available.
- Peer Mediators are students trained to listen and help fellow students develop solutions to conflicts. These students help make their respective schools more peaceful places to learn and grow.
- The Positive Peer Influencer Program is a pilot program designed to help local teens make healthy choices. This innovative program is a collaboration between The Mediation Center of the Coastal Empire, Savannah-Chatham County Public School System and the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team that trains Positive Peer Influencers at Alfred E. Beach High School, Herschel V. Jenkins High School, Islands High School and New Hampstead High School to serve as mentors to local middle school students. Positive Peer Influencers model healthy decision-making and speak with students about how to navigate to peer pressure.
- Restorative Youth Court (Currently Paused) is a youth-led diversionary program that positions trained youth volunteers as the lawyers, judge, bailiff and jury in sentencing hearings for students who have broken specified school code of conduct rules. This program utilizes restorative justice practices to promote behavioral change in students and to help reduce recidivism.
Key Responsibilities:
Support Peer Mediators: Assist trained student mediators in facilitating peer mediation sessions, helping fellow students develop solutions to conflicts and create a more peaceful school environment.
Encourage Positive Peer Influencers: Collaborate with participants in the Positive Peer Influencer Program, mentoring teens as they engage with middle school students. Help facilitate discussions on healthy decision-making and effective strategies for handling peer pressure.
Facilitate Restorative Youth Court: Support the youth-led diversionary program by helping coordinate activities and serving as a resource for trained youth volunteers who act as lawyers, judges, bailiffs, and jurors. Assist in promoting restorative justice practices that encourage accountability and behavioral change.
Promote Conflict Resolution Skills: Organize and participate in workshops or activities designed to teach local youth essential conflict resolution and communication skills.
Interested in volunteering with The Mediation Center's Youth Programs? Please contact Sherlisa Praylo at spraylo@mediationsavannah.com.
The Mediation Center of the Coastal Empire is Savannah's leading organization dedicated to helping citizens proactively manage conflict, creating alternatives to litigation and increasing access to justice. This 501©3 nonprofit is committed to conflict resolution, de-escalation and fostering community health in coastal Georgia. Over the last 36 years, the Mediation Center has trained more than 500 volunteer mediators, conducted 10,000+ mediations and facilitated over 7,000 settlements.
