Community/Neighbor Mediation provides the opportunity to air grievances, gain clarity, and make informed decisions that ideally leads parties to mutually acceptable agreement for things like:

• Neighbor complaints
• Property disputes
• Harassment claims
• Landlord/tenant disputes
• Violation of town/city ordinances
• Consumer/merchant disputes
• Other interpersonal issues

Breach of Contract/Small Claims offers residents the opportunity to settle common breach of contract issues through mediation outside the court setting with more positive outcomes that often include payment plans, work completion, or other reparation.

• Homeowner/contractor disputes
• Personal loan defaults
• Consumer/merchant complaints
• Other breach of contract issues may be appropriate for mediation

Special Education Mediation offers a neutral environment for parents of children with disabilities and school districts to work out their differences. It is often chosen instead of an impartial hearing as a way of resolving disagreements about a student’s special education placement, services, evaluation, or classification.

Please download the application and send to mdegand@clusterinc.org.

Restorative Justice Mediation seeks to restore the balance disrupted by crime and its aftermath. With a focus on youthful crime, CLUSTER provides a supportive environment that allows participants to take ownership of their actions, but more importantly focuses on repairing and preventing future behavior.

Cases are referred by Probation, The Family Court and occasionally Department of Social Services.

Lemon Law Arbitration is available for consumers who think their car purchase may be a “lemon” if the car does not conform to the terms of the warranty and the manufacturer or its authorized dealer is unable to repair the car after a reasonable number of attempts. The owner may be entitled to a full refund or a comparable replacement car during the first 18,000 miles or two years (whichever comes first). For more information go to http://www.ag.ny.gov/.

Eviction Prevention Program provides one-time financial assistance and guidance for families that have fallen behind in rent and are at risk for homelessness. The families and landlords collectively benefit and promotes a better relationship between landlord and tenant. Currently this service is only available in Westchester.

COVID-19 UPDATE: The state has put a halt to any evictions, so our Eviction Prevention Staff are now working from home. The staff have been reaching out to clients to ensure that they have all the services they need in place and continue to work towards managing any eviction and shut off issues they may be facing when the NY PAUSE is lifted.

Should you be facing eviction when NY PAUSE is lifted, please download, fill out, and email the following form back to info@clusterinc.org. A case manager will review to determine your eligibility.

Download the Eviction Prevention Intake Form

Our goal is to support you in decision-making and conflict resolution that empowers you to move forward constructively in your life. In some situations, there may be a harm to repair. We work with you to discuss what happened and to explore options for next steps after a harm has occurred. We view you as an important member of the community. Therefore, what happens in your life affects the community and vice versa. Our hope is to support you in restoring relationships between yourself, people closest to you, and the wider community.

We offer support through:

Community Circles A group of people gathers to discuss and share ideas about an incident or issue. Circles can strengthen relationships between members of a community by creating the space for all voices to be heard.

Conflict Coaching An individual who is experiencing conflict can meet privately with a coach who offers nonjudgmental support, helping the person arrive at a clear understanding of goals and strategies for working through the conflict.

Mediation Two people in conflict with one another work toward resolution of the dispute with the help of a mediator. The mediation may occur in one or multiple sessions where all involved participants meet virtually on Zoom. In some situations, participants meet with the mediator individually.

Parent-Teen Mediation During several sessions with a facilitator, parents and teens work on strategies for strengthening or repairing their relationships with one another.

Restorative Conferences When a harm has occurred, the people most closely involved in the incident participate in a facilitated conference. People of significance to those involved are also included so that they may share their perspectives. Each person in attendance has an opportunity to speak in turn about what occurred and its impact, and to discuss options for repairing the harm.

We look forward to working with you! 

Trudy Junkroski, Restorative Justice Supervisor, tjunkroski@clusterinc.org, (914) 446-0863

Divorce/Separation Mediation provides a less stressful, less costly, and faster alternative than the traditional process. Couples work with an experienced mediator to make informed decisions about living arrangements, division of property, assets and debts, parental responsibilities and schedules, and financial support for children and/or spouse or partner as needed. Services are available in English, French and Spanish.

Custody/Visitation Mediation encourages parents to create a parenting plan and make decisions in the best interest of their children including: holiday schedules, living arrangements, parental responsibilities and how decisions will be made moving forward. 85% of our Custody-Visitation mediations result in agreement between the parents. Cases that are referred by the Family Court and result in agreement can be submitted to the Judge to be approved as a court-ordered document in place of the Judge’s decision.

Parent/Teen Mediation helps parents or guardians and their children resolve difficulties and build greater understanding between one another with the help of a specially trained mediator. Over the period of four sessions, young people and their parents or guardians build agreements that are mutually acceptable and sustainable. Topics that are frequently covered include:

• Curfews
• Chores
• School
• Dating
• Communication
• Independence
• Respect
• Employment
• Responsibility
• Sibling Relationships
• Friends
• Visitation with Non-Custodial Parents

Our mediators can be sent to places of business to mediate disputes between coworkers, managers and employees, and even between clients and service providers. An opportunity for both sides to vent their frustrations and hear more clearly the other’s perspective often leads to a better working relationship and the prevention of future conflicts in the workplace. These mediation sessions can also be held at one of our locations.

For a more sustaining change to the working environment and corporate culture, check out more information about training in the corporate sector.

Our Peer Mediation Programs have been in operation for over 15 years and have become a well-established resource for school districts county-wide. On-site coordinators train students to assist their peers when a conflict arises and on average, a peer mediation program may address as many as 25 -35 cases a month. More importantly, the program supports the development of leadership skills and a collaborative community.

In addition to our Peer Mediation Programs, we provide a broad range of student and teacher training programs in Conflict Resolution, Restorative Practice and Collaborative Negotiation.

Conflict Resolution Training helps everyone in the school community see conflict not only as a destructive force but also as an opportunity for growth. In a world so fraught with conflict, it is essential that students learn to understand conflict and develop tools to manage it.

Restorative Practice Training focuses on helping teachers build a more collaborative community with their students, enriching the learning environment with a sense of safety and support.

Collaborative Negotiation Training teaches students how to negotiate effectively and to understand the need for mutual respect as the lynchpin for sustainable agreements.

Provides an opportunity for families who are involved in a Surrogate’s Court matter, usually due to the recent death of a relative, to come together to resolve disputes that have arisen due to that person’s passing. Parties work with mediators, including some who are attorneys with Trusts and Estates experience, to resolve disputes over the validity or terms of a will, the probate of a will, the appointment of an administrator, the administration of an estate, or proceedings for an accounting. Parties to guardianship proceedings have the opportunity to mediate disputes regarding the appointment of a guardian for a disabled person.