NYSDRA’S COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION FOR ACCESS TO JUSTICE & EQUITY INITIATIVE
(September 2018-Present)

How can CDRCs become the trusted, go-to community resource for dialogue, mediation, and restorative justice in their communities?

Since September 2018, NYSDRA has been working on a Community Mobilization Initiative, with funding from The IOLA (Interest on Lawyer Account Fund) Grant.

Through this initiative, NYSDRA has been working closely with the New York statewide network of Community Dispute Resolution Centers (CDRCs) to support their community engagement and dialogue skills. The initiative helps CDRCs tailor their strategies and strengthen their responsiveness to emerging community needs.

To date, NYSDRA has held twelve intensive Community Mobilization Initiative training events, available to all CDRCs-staff and volunteers. Through this initiative, CDRCs are offered training tailored to meet the needs of the individual CDRC, with options ranging from single day 4-hour trainings to multi-day trainings. For most CDRCs, their communities have prioritized conflicts associated with the pandemic and racial justice. To this end, the Community Mobilization for Access to Justice & Equity Initiative has engaged CDRCs in a series of applications focused on racial and social justice, aligning with the social justice foundation of many CDRCs.

LOOKING AHEAD
(April 2021 – April 2023)

In March 2021, NYSDRA was again selected as an IOLA Administration of Justice grantee. This award funds the next phase of our Community Mobilization Initiative, which provides direct funding and technical assistance to CDRCs who want support and training so that they can engage in Community Mobilization or further their already established efforts.

The training and technical assistance will include an advanced training speaker series for members to learn from innovators who have mobilized communities with advanced ADR applications, such as those that address families of persons who are incarcerated, rural youth, and others whose needs are not currently addressed through traditional models of dispute resolution. Additionally, CDRCs with advanced experience in this area can apply to NYSDRA to become Community Mobilization Technical Assistance providers, so that they can share their knowledge, skills and experience with other CDRCs in a truly collaborative effort.

Our aim is to support community-based program innovations. NYSDRA's Community Mobilization Initiative's subgrant program will fund member programs crafting ADR innovations to address needs identified by the community. For example, where safety and community connections emerge as the greatest needs related to the movement towards racial equity and equal access to justice, member programs who have been trained to skillfully engage in sensitive and fraught content can apply for subgrantee funds to craft a responsive community Alternative Dispute Resolution program.

The application for the CDRC Community Mobilization subgrants will open on July 1, 2021.