Clackamas County is offering basic mediation training and housing mediation services to help community members resolve conflicts and prevent evictions.
Basic mediator training is set to begin on February 16. Participants can learn more and sign up online at clackamas.us/ccrs/eviction-prevention-mediation. Limited scholarships are available.
Housing mediation services are offered at no cost to participants through June 30. Tenants and housing providers can begin the eviction prevention mediation process by filling out an intake form available on the county’s housing mediation webpage or by calling 503-655-8850.
“Eviction can lead to poverty, homelessness, loss of employment, loss of possessions, increased health issues, and disrupt children’s education — and, it affects mostly low-income and underserved populations including people of color,” said Clackamas County Resolution Services Manager Amy Herman.
The county’s housing mediation program offers free mediation, resources and support services to housing providers and tenants. The goal of the program is to decrease evictions that lead to homelessness by offering housing providers and tenants the opportunity to work together on possible solutions before an eviction case is filed in court.
Mediation can address specific issues to stabilize a situation, such as developing a payment arrangement plan or a plan for gracefully moving out. It can also give renters more time to find new housing and connect them with community resources.
And, mediation can help housing providers lessen or recover losses, such as overdue rent and costs associated with eviction by making connections to possible funding sources.
Clackamas County is working on many levels to prevent the continued increase of housing instability affecting Oregon and the region. The county’s housing mediation services and mediator training scholarships are part of a grant-funded pilot project.
Clackamas County Resolution Services is one of five community dispute resolution centers offering free eviction prevention mediation services through the Eviction Prevention Mediation Demonstration Program.
Clackamas County’s housing mediation program is part of a statewide network of 15 dispute resolution centers. These centers are funded by the University of Oregon School of Law’s Oregon Office for Community Dispute Resolution, as part of a $1.2 million grant awarded in 2022 by Oregon Housing and Community Services, which is the state’s housing finance agency working to decrease poverty and increase access to stable housing.
Program data concludes that 92% of post-mediation respondents reported the process was fair.