Orange County Human Relations Council

BRIDGES develops a diverse group of students into leaders who have the skills, knowledge and tools to create, advocate for and sustain a safe, inclusive school environment where all students feel welcomed, are treated with respect and can succeed academically.  OC Human Relations staff are at school sites for the whole school year to train and coach students, teachers and parents in skills such as facilitation, conflict resolution and the foundations of human relations including empathy, respect for differences through personal connections and dialogue, and opens up communication on a variety of topics such as bullying, name calling and school violence BRIDGES works throughout the school year to empower students, teachers and administrators to sustain a more positive, safe and inclusive campus.Teachers are introduced to a variety of classroom materials, curriculum and lesson plans. Students are empowered to take action through positive leadership roles, public speaking and project organizing. In addition, each school is asked to commit to the BRIDGES program for a minimum of three years in order to see changes in the school climate integrated into the school’s culture.Within the BRIDGES Programs, we recently launched the Restorative Practices for Schools Programs that seeks to address the ineffectiveness and disproportionality that arises in more traditional school discipline systems by bringing a Restorative Justice perspective to the school setting. This project improves school climate by collaboratively working with school community stakeholders to embed Restorative Practices (a combination of community-building and restorative justice techniques).

The Dispute Resolution Program provides a broad spectrum of mediation, conciliation, negotiation and facilitated dialogue programs to resolve conflicts.  The mediation programs offer a positive approach and utilize dialogue as an alternative to violence and litigation. We can help resolve neighbor-to-neighbor, landlord-tenant, employer-employee, child custody, divorce, and small claims conflicts. We train and certify court, community, family law, and youth mediators, many of whom become volunteers/interns. We provide 32 hour state certified basic mediation training as well as advanced mediation training and internships.  Mediation services are offered free of charge to low-income residents.