Indy center will help mediate disputes between neighbors, family for free

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s happened time and time again, personal conflicts between people have become so heated that they turn violent and the Indy Center for Conflict Resolution is trying to help people resolve those issues before it gets to that level.

The center allowed FOX59/CBS4 into one of its trainings on Wednesday, where they went over ways to de-escalate tense situations, which Program Manager Kenwyn Butler said has a lot to do with how you act and what you say.

“When someone is escalated, it’s so easy to feel their energy come off on to you,” Butler told the class. “So just being able to keep your voice low, keep your body kind of not as tense as what theirs is.”

The students today were life coaches with the Indy Peace Fellowship who are working with at-risk young people and trying to get them on the right path in life. All of them described how they often deal with interpersonal conflicts between their mentees and other people.

Many of them said those conflicts often involve family.

“We coach them on even how to start the conversation, how to even have this conversation with someone without violence, without it escalating, without it getting to the point where nothing is resolved,” Butler explained.

The center said it sometimes receives referrals from IMPD and other city agencies. They also take calls and can help mediate certain situations for anyone in Marion County who asks for it.

Some of those situations include neighbor disputes, family conflicts, private landlord/tenant issues, consumer and business disputes and other interpersonal conflicts.

The center will not mediate conflicts with corporate property managers or where both people don’t know each other. There is also no enforcement mechanism.

The hope, Butler said, is that they can help people solve their problems with words instead of violence.

“I have just seen the value so much in being able to sit down face-to-face with someone and really just being able to just get things kind of aired out, having that venting process but doing it in a safe place,” Butler said.

The mediation is free to anyone in Marion County. You can get started by calling 317-363-1699 or by visiting their website.