A particularly sad aspect of this is the ever-increasing number of evictions in Summary Process court due to foreclosures. Whether the landlord lost the house due to failed speculating or simple tough times. tenants are often the silent victims of the foreclosure plague. Mediators are often able to help the parties make the eviction a little easier. And a little is a lot.

But I agree with your point about “loyal yet cheap labor”. That’s a whole other issue and one that I didn’t address in this post — the exploitation and devaluation of mediation services by the courts. What other professionals are expected to provide services to the state for little or no remuneration? It’s going to take a revolution to change the long-standing practice of utilizing volunteer, pro bono mediation services in courts — and that revolution will have to take place within mediation programs and among mediators themselves. I’m not suggesting that mediators — or any other professional for that matter — abandon all pro bono work. Giving back and supporting communities are laudable goals. But we need to make sure at the same time that the professional services that mediators provide are valued adequately.

I hope that the mediation programs affected go on strike or find some other effective and highly visible way to let the powers that be know that this move is a giant step backward for public justice. The courts and the public benefited greatly from the services these programs provided, and canceling these contracts serves no one well. Given the current economic climate, I suppose reinstatement of the contracts with a 100% increase is out of the question, but maybe some day…

On the bright side, maybe this will act as a wake up call to mediation programs and mediators who failed to diversify their client base or market sufficiently in the private sector. We can either adapt to the new market conditions or perish.