Testimonials

(My neighbour) said 'Hello' - I was so pleased. She took a risk really. I might have told her to sod off. So that was really nice. And the problem with the fence and the kids shouting has improved.

- Referred party in a call to our service after both she and her neighbour had had a visit from our mediators, after which they created more constructive ways of responding to their situation.

‘Hillingdon Homes fully recognise the benefits of mediation in its approach to responding to a range of nuisance and neighbour related disputes such as noise and parking problems. Mediation is recognised as having a key role in responding to many situations where lifestyle differences are at the heart of the problem. Our staff will advocate the use and benefits of mediation at the point of incident reporting and explain to customers that in the majority of cases, mediation is the only real option available to them which has the potential to reach a sustainable solution.

Apart from the benefits of mediation to our customers it is also clear that Hillingdon Community Mediation presents clear benefits to our staff. During last year for example all staff in our Anti-Social Behaviour Team who had referred a dispute into the service reported a reduction in time spent dealing with the case and 86% reported reduced levels of contact with the parties. Within our Community Housing Teams 60% of staff reported a reduction in time spent dealing with the referred dispute and 40% reported reduced levels of contact with the parties.

Not only is mediation the appropriate response to low level nuisance and lifestyle differences but referral at the point of incident report is clearly an effective use of Housing Officer time’.

Rod Smith
Head of Estate Management
Hillingdon Homes Ltd.
May 2008

Becoming a mediator has changed the way I work. It makes me think hard about the kind of questions I ask in all situations and why I am asking them. This discipline is going to be very useful in the forthcoming task of getting to know the staff in my new organisation. In the new post I will be the link between the UK Trustees and the HQ in France, and balancing these potentially different points of view could be a challenging task, but my training in mediation makes me feel more confident about my ability to do it.
-Steph Stuart - Experienced Mediator for Hillingdon Community Mediation on moving to her new job as Director of the UK section of the French Charity, Handicap International in March 2008.

"We won't be needing you any more!" - phrase used by a participant in a face to face meeting once it became clear they had resolved their dispute with their neighbour.

Dear Sir May I take the opportunity to thank your organisation and staff for the time and effort they devoted in helping me to resolve a long running problem with my neighbour. That the mediation process resulted in such a positive result was beyond my wildest expectations. After the meeting with my neighbour which was monitored by your good selves we honoured the agreement that was reached and noted by you. I had been trying for the best part of two years to reach an agreement.......... I was on the verge of taking more drastic action, litigation not fistycuffs, when the good offices of your organisation brought about an agreement in little over an hour. - Evaluation Questionnaire feedback from a client who attended a face to face mediation meeting with his neighbour.

Firstly my family and I would like to thank Hillingdon Community Mediation for the face to face meeting held..(date).

...We would especially like to thank (Mediators) for their professional conduct, friendly, approachable attitude, setting a good atmosphere and for the manner they took control of some complex circumstances during our meeting.

...Such a meeting is a very powerful tool which I suspect a lot of people including me either don't know about it or underestimate its potential.

We have never done such a meeting and are so very grateful.

From a letter from one of our clients after mediation was provided in a longstanding dispute