GHACF Supports Seniors Seeking Pathway To Peace
October 2022
“Four Pointes is excited to be part of this innovative new program. It offers valuable resources in order to navigate difficult conversations. As seniors experience changes in their lives, open communication is the key to preventing misunderstandings and conflicts between older adults and their loved ones,” Kroll said, Executive Director of Four Pointes.
Grand Haven, MI (October 10th, 2022) The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation is making a long-term financial commitment to a program designed to help Northern Ottawa County seniors and their loved ones learn how to settle conflicts.
The GHACF is awarding Mediation Services nearly $64,000 over the next four years to launch a new program called Pathway to Peace. The program offers a range of conflict resolution services from mediation and restorative practices to seminars designed to help seniors deal with conflict in their changing lives.
“We are very grateful the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation is supporting this program. This grant allows us to help seniors better understand how to resolve conflicts and teaches them ways to move forward and bring more peace into their lives,” said Elizabeth Giddings Scott, Executive Director of Mediation Services.
This program is made possible through the generous support of these Grand Haven Area Community Foundation Funds: Cornelia B. Wagner & Ruth B. Hoek Fund, Gene and Sally Harbeck Fund, Healthy Seniors Healthy Youth Endowment Fund, Margaret Lynn Wilson Fund, and the Greatest Needs Fund of the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation.
The Pathway to Peace program will be offered at Four Pointes Center for Successful Aging in Grand Haven and will be added to a range of programming offered for seniors. Kim Kroll is the Executive Director of Four Pointes.
“Four Pointes is excited to be part of this innovative new program. It offers valuable resources in order to navigate difficult conversations. As seniors experience changes in their lives, open communication is the key to preventing misunderstandings and conflicts between older adults and their loved ones,” Kroll said.
Mediation Services is a non-profit organization based in Holland Michigan that has been providing conflict resolution services for nearly 30 years. The Pathway to Peace program was created after seeing many older adults grapple with issues connected to the aging process.
“As people get older, they can face disagreements with important people in their lives, this program gives seniors options for addressing these conflicts,” Scott said. Common issues include decisions over when to stop driving or when a senior needs assistance making decisions over their health care or financial needs. The Pathway to Peace program promotes peace by bringing people together using mediation principles and techniques. The goal is to help seniors discover more peace in their golden years by moving beyond disagreements through the use of an impartial facilitator. This person is specially trained to guide difficult discussions and help everyone involved reach a mutual solution.
The new program will be offered on the first Friday of every month at Four Pointes Center for Successful Aging – 1051 S. Beacon Blvd., Grand Haven, MI 49417.
The first session will be held November 4th from 10am-noon.
New First-Time Juvenile Offenders Program Receives Grant To Continue Changing Lives
MLive • September 2022
“This is a way to teach these young people how to make it right to the individual and greater community that they harmed, and learn through the process so that they don’t repeat the same mistake,” Giddings Scott [executive director at Mediation Services] said.
Holland-Based Mediation Services Hopes To Keep Juveniles Out Of The Justice System
Holland Sentinel • September 2022
“The goal is to address the harm the juvenile caused in a restorative way and allow the juvenile the opportunity to avoid entering into the juvenile justice systems,” said Lee Fisher, prosecuting attorney for Ottawa County.
Local Organization Receives Grant To Expand Juvenile Restorative Justice Program
Fox 17 News • September 2022
“It’s about giving them a bright future for their lives and giving the victims of those crimes a more direct role in the process so that their voice gets to be heard directly by the juvenile,” said Elizabeth Giddings-Scott, executive director of Mediation Services.
The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area
September 2022
“We are grateful for this investment from the CFHZ. This grant means we can now offer young offenders a better way forward, which helps to strengthen our entire community,” said Elizabeth Scott, Executive Director of Mediation Services.
Holland, MI (September, 2022) The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area (CFHZ) has awarded Mediation Services $20,000 for a new program designed to help first-time juvenile offenders and the persons they harmed move forward towards a brighter future.
The RH²: Repair Harm & Restore Hope program brings restorative justice to the Ottawa County Juvenile Justice system. Restorative justice provides accountability for first-time juvenile offenders to repair the harm they caused.
“We are grateful for this investment from the CFHZ. This grant means we can now offer young offenders a better way forward, which helps to strengthen our entire community,” said Elizabeth Scott, Executive Director of Mediation Services.
Restorative justice centers upon juvenile offenders taking responsibility for their actions and restoring their victims to wholeness by hearing the victims’ perspectives and learning about how their lives were impacted. The RH² program gives victims an enhanced voice in this early-intervention process and offers young offenders the opportunity to avoid a juvenile court record if they complete a rigorous restorative action plan.
The RH² program works in collaboration with the Ottawa County Prosecutors’ office and the clinical counseling services of Bethany of Holland. Young offenders who qualify for the program must accept responsibility for their actions and agree to community service and counseling. Part of making restitution for the harm they have caused includes writing a letter of apology to the persons they harmed.
“The goal is to address the harm the juvenile caused in a restorative way and allow the juvenile the opportunity to avoid entering into the Juvenile Justice system,” said Lee Fisher, Prosecuting Attorney of Ottawa County.
Mediation Services has been providing conflict resolution services for nearly 30 years and created this pilot program with the goal of restoring hope to these serious situations for both victims and their juvenile offenders.
“Mediation Services is a consistent resource for collaborative problem solving in our community and is an ideal partner for this program,” Fisher added.
This announcement comes as the Ottawa County Prosecutors’ office is responding to an increase in juvenile cases because a law went into effect which treats 17-year-olds as juveniles instead of adults. This program could help reduce the number of juveniles entering into the court system and improve the lives of both the juveniles and everyone impacted by their actions.
This program is made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area. Members of the Ottawa County Prosecutors’Office and the CFHZ Foundation will present the award to Mediation Services staff and board members at their office: 291 W. Lakewood Blvd. Suite 9 Holland Mi 49424.
The event will take place Sept. 6th at 3pm. Please allow time for construction on Lakewood Blvd in front of the office. Call Penny Shuff with any questions: 312-208-2706
