As a learning organization, the DRC is constantly evolving and changing to meet the needs of our community. Whether it is staff transitions, new or sunsetting programs, or simply the changing of the seasons, there is always so much change happening around us. We recognize we can get lost in the work that do and sometimes forget to pause and reconnect with each other. 
We want to offer you the opportunity to get to know a little bit about the current DRC staff! Feel free to reach out with any questions that may come up or if you see you have something in common! 

On Sunday, May 7th, we gathered at Lacey Community Center for A Celebration of Peacemakers.  The DRC's first large indoor, in-person gathering since 2019, this new event honored our volunteers, supporters, advocates and community partners - all those whose efforts help create a more civil and peaceful community. 

The highlight of the afternoon was the presentation of the Evan Ferber Peacemaker Leadership Award to Anne Larsen, in recognition of her community service.  Anne Developed the Crisis Response Unit and Familiar Faces Program.  These programs focus on community members in crisis due to poverty, trauma, and mental health issues or substance disorders, with the goal of connecting clients to housing, medical care, treatment, and to their families.

The presence of several past recipients of the Peacemaker Award, or family representatives, made this a doubly-special gathering.

Thank you to everyone that was able to join us for our annual Volunteer Appreciation Picnic. We love any opportunity to spend quality time with you! Also a big thanks to Bayview Catering for providing a delicious BBQ Pork spread!

We are so grateful that our 2022 Evan Ferber Peacemaker Leadership Award Recipient's family was able to join us to accept the award on his behalf. Learn more about Jose Gutierrez Jr. below. 

 Jose served his local community in countless roles, since the early age of 12, using his gifts as a man of faith, an ​educator, mentor, professor, DJ, philanthropist, advocate, certified mediator, founder, leader, entertainer, philosopher, and innovator.

Jose was a charismatic & iconic leader in his community, opposing injustice of all kinds creating dynamic solutions to comprehensive problems that many shy away from. Because of his passion for serving, Jose has spent a lifetime dedicated to being a peacemaker. As a leader, he has stood in the middle of crisis, speaking truth to power while offering practical, innovative, and progressive solutions. He was and is truly a local legend and his contributions to humanity are a reflection of what it means to love, lead and serve.
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Jose saw conflict as an opportunity to creatively reach a common ground using various forms of the arts and media to reach people of all walks of life; synthesizing his gifts and professional knowledge as a philosopher, poet, Hip-Hop artist, DJ, journalist, professor, and Certified Mediator imparting life-long tools, skills and wisdom to his diverse audience.

Mother Teresa once said, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” Jose’s life’s work has been an embodiment of that sentiment. We were honored to present this award to Jose’s sister Stella Hoioulani at the annual Volunteer Appreciation Picnic August 10, 2022.

Around 9:00 this morning, the DRC office experienced a system outage that affected our ability to access our server and answer phones. This has immediately become our highest priority and technical support is working to identify the source of the problem and get us back up and running.

Many staff members have returned home to work remotely and continue to provide services to our community as best as we can. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience  this may have caused to our volunteers, our clients, and our community. We understand the impact an outage can have on people's lives and we thank you for your patience and support while get our systems back online.

If you have an urgent need in the meantime, please contact Robyn Togesen and we will do our best to help until we get things back to normal.

Update - 2/28/2022 2:53 pm: Our services are now back online and we are fully able to return to normal operations. Thank you again for your patience and understanding!

P.S. Because our phone systems were inaccessible from 9:00 am to about 3:00 pm, deadlines for Eviction Resolution Program cases will be extended through end of business tomorrow, March 1, 2022 to accommodate this outage.

​Mary and Shelly are highlighted in a special feature story in Thurston Talk.  Read the article.

Washington State’s phased re-opening plan is responsive to the continually changing public health reality in our region.  As such, the Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) has had a similarly fluid response, directed by the statewide guidance of the time.  Our primary interest and concern remains the health and safety of our community, staff, volunteers, and clients – in both the near- and long-term. 
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The following safety precautions are in place until posted otherwise to protect the health and wellness of everyone and to curtail the further spread of illness. We are asking everyone to support these efforts. ​

In 2019 the Dispute Resolution Center of Thurston County served 6,168 members of our community through mediation, facilitation, training, youth outreach, conflict coaching and our Conflict Resolution Resource Line - an increase of 35% from the prior year!

This record of service was made possible by more than 140 volunteers who collectively give over 5,000 hours of service each year to help make our vision - a South Sound community that has a uses healthy and respectful conflict resolution skills - a reality.  The contributions of our dedicated volunteers - the "heart and soul" of our organization - are highlighted in our 2020 Community Impact Report.

The theme of this year's report -"Navigating a Way Forward" - highlights both the DRC's focus on helping individuals, families and organizations navigate conflict, and our efforts to develop innovative new online resources to serve our community as we all navigate through uncharted waters during these challenging times.

We hope you will take a few moments to read the online version of our report. 

We are in a period of significant societal transformation—with the COVID-19 outbreak and racial justice movement. The actions we take, as individuals and as institutions, will have a lasting, profound effect on our collective experience. 
 
In my varied roles within this community, I see tremendous potential to create a stronger society IF we navigate this time of conflict well.  It requires each of us to be willing to have uncomfortable conversations, and we need to have them with a spirit of openness and a willingness to listen, understand, and grow. 
 
Navigating conflict, in ways that maintain, restore and rebuild relationships, is as old as human history.  We have sat in circle discussing harm and addressing accountability.  We have asked for support from others to facilitate tough conversations. This practice of coming together in a way that enables us to truly see and understand our fellow humans comes from an ancient interest and need to stay safe by remaining in community with one another. 
 
In this moment that we find ourselves, I keep reflecting on other times in history where significant social change occurred.  The civil rights movement of the 1960s was one of these times. Communities mobilized, catalyzed by feelings of confusion, sadness, anger, and for some, optimism and hope. 
 
This period of uncertainty, change, and conflict contributed to the birth of community mediation centers, via the 1964 Civil Rights Act.   The act established the Community Relations Service within the Department of Justice, which was referred to as “America’s Peacemaker for Community Conflict.” A few years later, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration funded the formation of neighborhood justice centers, which were the precursors to today’s community mediation centers, such as your local Dispute Resolution Center of Thurston County. 
 
We are again in a pivotal time of history, filled with uncertainty, change, and conflict. People may be motivated to seek solutions through litigation or violence.  In Olympia, we are seeing demonstrations that occasionally result in destruction and arrests. In addition, as our state reopens from the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order, we are seeing a rise in tenant-landlord disputes, housing insecurity, struggles for at-risk youth, and family or neighbor conflicts.
 
I know from experience that the best solutions emerge when we work together - when we convene people with diverse viewpoints and interests, who are willing to show up, without thinking they have all the answers but with an interest in creating a future that works better than today.