For problems in your community
Use our neighbourhood conflict resolution service
If you’re experiencing issues or problems with your neighbours or in your community, we are here to help. Our experienced team is used to dealing with a wide range of situations – and is here to listen and advise, let you be heard, and offer practical solutions and suggestions about how to move forward. All in a friendly, non-judgmental way.
We deal with:
- Anti-social behaviour and noise complaints.
- Behaviour of children and young people.
- Abuse, threats or name-calling.
- Hate incidents including a clash of lifestyles or cultures.
- Harassment, intimidation or bullying – including on social media.
- Problems around gardens, boundaries, parking or animals.
Our services are designed to be affordable and cost-effective. They may even be free if you’re a local authority or housing association tenant.
How we work
When you come to us with a problem or are referred, we’ll contact you to find out what’s been happening and how we might be able to help. Then we’ll put you in touch with two of our team who will arrange to meet you individually. This can be online (through Zoom or something similar), at home or another place where you feel comfortable. And it can be during the day, evening or at the weekend. We can also provide interpreters or translators to make sure the process is as easy as possible.
When we meet, we’ll listen, understand what is happening and talk through ways we can help make the situation better. And if we think we’re not the best people to help, we can put you in touch with someone who is.
Once we understand the situation, we’ll try to set up a meeting with the other people involved, so we can all talk through what’s happening, why it’s happening and how it’s making everyone feel. Generally, once people come face-to-face, and understand how their actions are making people feel, things do get better.
If the other party doesn’t want to meet up, we can still work with you to find ways to deal with the situation. And we always stay in touch to check if things improve along the way.
How we help
- We get people talking to understand each other’s point of view.
- We help you ask questions and move on from what has happened.
- We help everyone live near each other without problems.
- We help you feel safer and more secure in your home and community.
- We help you feel more confident about dealing with future problems.
- We help you feel healthy and well by reducing levels of stress.
- We help you break the cycle of conflict.
Need individual support?
If you want some help to learn how to cope with conflict yourself – or another person you’re having problems with refuses to talk – we can work with you individually. You’ll meet with two of our team, to talk through how things are and what impact these issues are having on you and those around you.
We usually work with people over two sessions of around an hour each time. And these can be online, at our offices in Easton, at your home or somewhere else where you feel comfortable. Often that’s enough to think about the situation and see it in a different light – so you are ready to move forward and get to a place where you feel happier.
During the sessions, we will help you:
- Learn how to support yourself through difficult situations.
- Think about what has happened, what has helped and what hasn’t.
- Explore the next steps and find new ways to cope with the situation.
- Think about what might stop the situation happening again.
- Think about what might work in the future and how to improve communication.
