Just because of having this common identity, the laptops are densely packed, and the retired uncle's phone number has become a "help hotline" in the community | Shuncai | identity
In recent days, 70 year old Wu Aikang has been closely monitoring the direction of the typhoon and thinking about the situation of residential building 26 in the community. As a full-time mediator of the People's Mediation Committee of Youyi Road Street in Baoshan District, he was stopped by a resident of the building a week ago in the community to complain: a glass window on the balcony of a resident on the fourth floor suddenly fell, fortunately it did not hit anyone, but it smashed the outdoor unit of his own air conditioner. During the typhoon days in July and August, residents were worried about the safety hazards of the damaged window regeneration and wanted to contact the homeowner for repair as soon as possible, but they couldn't reach the other party
Upon learning of this matter, Wu Aikang put aside his responsibilities and quickly went to the property management to inquire about the phone number. He politely reported his home to the homeowner and introduced the situation. Unexpectedly, the other party refused the proposal to send the keys over by express delivery and have the community help with repairs, citing that the house was left vacant for a long time and they were working in another city. Afterwards, they also refused to answer the phone. After multiple unsuccessful attempts at communication, Wu Aikang had to inform the community police of the recorded situation and the other party's information.
The matter was handed over to the police, but Wu Aikang did not completely let it go. He still tried to communicate with the head of the household and contacted other residents in the building to understand the situation. "What concerns the personal and property safety of residents is not a small matter. If it is not resolved in a day, everyone's heart will not be at ease." Since engaging in mediation work, his notebook has densely recorded the detailed process of each mediation matter. Only after the matter is completed can he confidently check the page.
In Youyi Road Street, there are several people's mediators like Wu Aikang, who are either retired "old masters" of enterprises and institutions, or well-known enthusiastic old party members in the community. With patience and enthusiasm, uncles and aunts leverage their geographical, familial, and social advantages to promote the resolution of various conflicts and issues, achieving the goal of "small disputes not coming out of the community, big disputes not coming out of the streets, and conflicts being resolved in the bud". Over the past three years, the Youyi Road Sub district Mediation Committee has accepted and mediated a total of 188 disputes, with 185 successfully mediated cases and a success rate of 98.4%. The amount involved is over 7.666 million yuan, and the Sub district Mediation Committee has guided the Village Neighborhood Mediation Committee to mediate 2600 conflicts and disputes.
Difficulty in resolving community conflicts? To be emotional, also to be rational
Shu Shuncai, who lives in Jiucun, Baoshan, has been serving as a community mediator for less than a year. However, he has become a skilled tree teacher in the hearts of the residents, resolving the long-standing grievances and conflicts caused by water leakage between the two households.
The cause of the incident was that there was a shared sewer pipe upstairs and downstairs. After the renovation of the kitchen on the second floor, it caused water leakage. Residents on the first floor had to use buckets to collect water for a long time, otherwise the kitchen would become "Zeguo". After multiple attempts at mediation, the residents on the second floor had promised to resolve the issue, but every time they tried to find reasons to say, "It's not convenient now, we'll handle it in a while.". After Shu Shuncai took over the mediation, he first visited the two families separately. When he saw that the elderly couple on the first floor always had to climb up and down to collect water and pour buckets, he made up his mind to make a quick decision.
"Our desire to solve problems is urgent, but we need to pay attention to our methods and approaches." With decades of accumulated communication skills in foreign affairs, Shu Shuncai adopted a listening and guiding empathy approach to communicate with the residents on the second floor, depicting the difficulties faced by the elderly couple on the first floor for many years. He asked, "If your elderly person accidentally falls while changing water like this every day, what would you feel?" He was moved and then explained to them. Shu Shuncai said that if there is really a dispute that requires judicial proceedings, it is very clear who will lose the lawsuit. After listening to these, the residents on the second floor finally agreed not to delay anymore, and Shu Shuncai took the opportunity to come to the house with the construction team on the third day after mediation to help clean up the kitchen and implement the renovation.
Enthusiastic and responsible is the deep impression that Guo Lijin, the Secretary of the Party General Branch of Baoshan Jiucun Residential Area, has on Shu Shuncai, and it is also the reason why she encouraged him to step forward and serve as a people's mediator. During the epidemic, Shu Shuncai provided free haircuts for over 200 residents. The basketball rack in the small garden of the community has been temporarily removed due to repainting, and children will seek help from this "enthusiastic dad". The public seat that the elderly often sit on while enjoying the cool air is broken, and it is also Shushuncai who is watching the property management to replace it within three days and put it back in its original position. Transforming from a community capable person to a people's mediator, Shu Shuncai still had concerns, but the firm support of his family ultimately led him to decide to give it a try. "This job is essentially serving the people and solving problems within my abilities for those around me. I also have a great sense of achievement."
Shu Shuncai, who always runs around the community, like Wu Aikang, often receives help from residents on the way to the community, and sometimes the phone rings in the middle of the night. After putting on his clothes and rushing over to take a look, he realized that it was actually the sound of air conditioning dripping on the canopy. Just plug in the fallen drainage pipe and it will be fine. It is precisely because he has solved various small problems that the mediators rooted in the community have gained the trust and recognition of the majority of residents. A community official stated that 70-80% of the conflicts and disputes in the community are concentrated in areas such as water leakage, noise, pet care, and parking. Although they are not significant, they still plague people's daily lives. "With the participation of experienced people's mediators, small conflicts and problems are more resolved within the community, and the foundation of grassroots governance is further strengthened."
There is specialization in the profession, and professional strength empowers and promotes the resolution of conflicts
Mediators may also encounter difficulties, and the street mediation committee, as a strong support, will intervene to promote conflict resolution through resource integration and professional empowerment.
According to Tang Qin, the director of the Friendship Road Judicial Office and the director of the Street Mediation Committee, the Street Mediation Committee is led by the Judicial Office, and heads of departments such as the Safety Office, Petition Office, and Urban Transport Center participate in coordinating and guiding the mediation work of the street people, and directly participate in mediating major conflicts and disputes. Court judges and street legal advisors serve as intellectual support, actively guiding the work of street people's mediation through their professional abilities, regularly conducting professional training on civil codes, people's mediation agreements, and continuously improving the legal literacy and mediation level of mediators.
Newcomers who have participated in mediation work for a short period of time can also learn from their predecessors through training and exchange activities organized by the street mediation committee. "Although our specific directions for mediation are different, we can learn a lot from the old monk in terms of communication skills and seeking help from relevant departments during the mediation process," said Shu Shuncai.
As early as 2017, the Friendship Road Sub district Mediation Committee explored and innovated on the basis of summarizing experience, following the basic concept of "achieving resource sharing and complementary advantages between the two stations", and established the People's Mediation Studio and the People's Mediation Working Room of the Friendship Road Police Station and the Shuangcheng Police Station. Yang Qun, a retired employee who has been engaged in enterprise management for a long time, and Shen Fanxiang, a retired employee from the public security system, served as full-time resident mediators. By implementing an effective linkage mechanism between the judicial office and the public security police station in the governance of community conflicts and disputes, inheriting and promoting the "Fengqiao Spirit", we have further improved our ability to maintain social order and serve the people.
In May 2018, the street mediation committee expanded its mediation scope and established the first mediation room stationed in the market supervision and management office in Baoshan District to further explore and practice consumer dispute mediation work. The studio undertakes the work of mediating consumer disputes among the people, incorporating local civil and commercial conflicts into the scope of people's mediation, and building a platform for consumers and businesses to negotiate and resolve conflicts. For parties who meet the conditions for consumer dispute mediation, the market directly entrusts and guides them to the mediation studio, and the fastest mediation case only takes half an hour. The mediation model of "going on a trip, having a conversation, and ending on the spot" has received praise from the parties involved.
Chen Huixing, a resident mediator, said that with the diversity of consumer scenarios and content, the mediation of consumer disputes now needs to firmly grasp the principle of neutrality. It not only relies on legal weapons to protect consumer rights from infringement, but also calmly persuades some consumers when they are unable to get angry and "go up" to avoid affecting the normal business order of merchants.
