September 2024 Newsletter

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15 through October 15, honoring Hispanic and Latino history and culture and their impact in the United States. Hispanic and Latino Americans make up almost 20% of the total population in the U.S., making it the second largest racial or ethnic group.

There are several terms people in this community identify with:

Hispanic - people with ancestry from Spain and Spanish speaking countries in Latin America

Latino - people with ancestry from Latin America

Latinx or Latine - used as a gender-neutral alternative to Latino/Latina

Boricua - people from Puerto Rico by birth or descent

Chicano - people of Mexican descent living in the U.S.

Celebrate locally and learn more:

https://www.cityofrochester.gov/departments/department-recreation-and-human-services/international-plaza

https://www.hispanicstar.org/toolkit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d2LeO-0UOQ

CDS Training Institute

In Our Communities

Helping people learn how to manage conflicts is an important part of our mission at the Center for Dispute Settlement. The CDS Training Institute is designed with the goal of creating more conflict-resilient communities, where individuals are empowered to understand their conflict styles, observe their conflict patterns, and make choices that lead to positive outcomes.

We offer a variety of trainings, from our 35-hour Basic Mediation Training to our 2-hour Conflict Skills Workshop, and work with all types of organizations, including private businesses, not-for-profits, schools, higher education, government agencies, and faith communities.

This summer, CDS was honored to provide conflict skills training for the City of Rochester Neighborhood Ambassadors pilot programs, located at Father Tracy Center, Barakah Muslim Charity, and Cameron Community Ministries. Funded by the NYS Opioid Settlement Fund, the program provides street outreach, community relations, and a variety of other supports to local neighborhoods.

CDS facilitated several state-wide trainings this summer as well. Our staff were selected as trainers for a project funded by the New York State Department of Education providing Restorative Practices trainings and coaching to school personnel in order to create a positive school climate and reduce punitive disciplinary strategies. We were also invited to provide Anti-Bias training for the statewide AmeriCorps Community Mediation Service Corps (CMSC) program offered through NYSDRA.

Finally, we were proud to host a 4-session conflict management training program called A Better Calm, facilitated by Dr. Bernadette Tracy, which was an initiative of our Task Force to Increase Access to Mediation in Communities of Color. Training participants are eligible to become certified trainers in their own communities within the City of Rochester.

For more information about our training programs, contact Ronalyn Pollack: rpollack@cdsadr.org

Pictured, above: Barakah Muslim Charity, Neighborhood Ambassadors program

CDS Training Institute

Upcoming Trainings

Basic Mediation Training

Sept 30-Oct 2, Oct 9-10

Notre Dame Retreat House, Canandaigua

This 35-hour training introduces participants to the Transformative mediation framework to prepare them to mediate community disputes as well as to become a volunteer with the Center for Dispute Settlement. The cost is $200 for pre-approved CDS volunteers, and $1,000 for those attending for professional development purposes. Scholarships are available for those from underrepresented communities.

For more information or to register, contact Ronalyn Pollack: rpollack@cdsadr.org

NYSDRA

Annual Conference

September 23-24

The New York State Dispute Resolution Association (NYSDRA) is holding its annual conference on September 23-24. The virtual event will feature keynote speakers John Lande, Isidor Loeb Professor Emeritus University of Missouri School of Law, and Lisa Courtney, Director, Division of Alternative Dispute Resolution, NYS Office of Court Administration. The list of presenters also includes Kim Reisch, Director of Ontario/Yates Counties, and Shira May, President/CEO.

CDS staff and volunteers may register through our agency by contacting Dorethea Jackson-Smith: djackson@cdsadr.org. All others may register at: https://www.nysdra.org/annual-conference

“Conocimiento”

What does that mean?

My name is Alise L. Mahr and I am a Program Manager in our Steuben County Center for Dispute Settlement (CDS) office. I have enjoyed my mediation journey in several Community Dispute Resolution Centers, positions, and counties since 1982.

I have been a member of the CDS Racial Equity Leadership Committee (RELC) since August of 2023. It is my pleasure to be collaborating with CDS colleagues, Michelle Mitchell and Martha Chazanoff, on the planning subcommittee for our Transforming White Privilege (TWP) curriculum usage.

What does Conocimiento mean?

Per www.racialequitytools.org “Conocimiento stems from the Chicano movement, collectivizing experiences and building bridges between personal perspectives.

 “As used in the Transforming White Privilege training, it means to validate the collective wisdom of the group in terms of learning and actions. When we engage in conocimiento we are engaged in remembering (putting all the parts together) the value of knowing the strengths within this community and or connectedness.”

“What can one expect or what are the objectives of this future TWP CDS training?

·       Inform and strengthen the group’s knowledge of “I am”, “you are”, “we are.”

·       Build participants’ capacities to engage fully in the work of building equity and change.

·       Expand participants’ awareness of the value of beginning group work with a community-building practice and a reflective practice.”

As our team continues the thoughtful review of this valuable TWP curriculum we look forward to the time when we can all explore together though "Conocimiento.”

As one of my favorite authors Michael Connelly writes in the voice of his amazing character, Harry Bosch, “everybody counts, or nobody counts.”

That is who we are and who we have been for more than 50 years at the Center for Dispute Settlement.

Agency Updates

• Welcome to Patrick Brice, our new Bookkeeper!



• We are seeking part-time Volunteer AmeriCorps members who can commit 100 volunteer hours during the 2024-2025 year. The position includes a $2,000 stipend and many other benefits for those eligible. For more information, visit: https://www.cdsadr.org/?q=job-postings

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