Every day, people across Long Island find themselves in conflict.
A disagreement with a neighbor. A dispute with a contractor. A co-parenting challenge. A special education concern. A misunderstanding that escalated into something bigger than anyone intended.
Most assume their only option is to keep fighting or go to court. For more than forty years, the Long Island Dispute Resolution Centers (LIDRC) have shown there is another way.
I’ve watched it happen hundreds of times. Someone walks in expecting a fight, certain there’s no other way it can end, and then something shifts once there’s a skilled, neutral person in the room whose only job is to help both sides actually hear each other. It still moves me.
LIDRC is part of EAC Network’s Division of Alternative Dispute Resolution, which we created in late 2025 after the demand for this work outgrew the infrastructure we had built to deliver it. Communities across Nassau and Suffolk Counties needed more access to mediation, so we expanded to provide it.
This summer, we’re sharing more of that work on social media, including stories from our volunteers and the people they’ve helped. You can follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.
LIDRC offers confidential mediation and arbitration services to individuals, families, and businesses across Nassau and Suffolk Counties. For the people we serve, these services are always free or low-cost. Our programs span a wide range of needs:
- Small Claims: resolving everyday financial disputes outside the courtroom
- Co-Parenting and Family Conflicts: including co-parenting disputes and parent-youth conflicts
- Neighbor Disputes: helping communities stay communities
- Special Education Disputes: helping parents of students with special needs and their school districts find common ground
- Lemon Law Arbitration: resolving disputes between vehicle buyers and manufacturers, through the largest program of its kind in New York State by case volume
Whatever the situation, our team helps people find a path forward, without ever setting foot in a courtroom.
What makes mediation different? It’s voluntary and confidential. No one is forced to reach an agreement, and it is a private conversation. The shared ownership of working through a process and developing a mutually agreed upon solution is what makes it work.
Behind all of it are roughly 60 mediators and apprentices, every one of them a volunteer. They receive rigorous training under the standards of the New York State Unified Court System, completing a Basic Mediation Training and a Mediation Apprenticeship before ever sitting at the table. Many go on to pursue advanced training in specialty areas. They give their time because they believe in this work, and the people they serve notice it. Here’s what a few of our clients had to say:
This work matters more now than it used to. Communities are more divided than they were a decade ago, institutions are stretched thin, and when we disagree, the instinct is increasingly to escalate: to litigate, to post about it online, to dig in. Mediation pushes in the other direction. It asks people to sit across from someone they’re at odds with and work through the actual problem together. It is a skill, and communities that stop practicing it lose it.
EAC Network has been doing this on Long Island since the 1980s, which makes us one of the most established community dispute resolution programs in New York State. In that time, we’ve helped thousands of Long Islanders resolve conflicts they thought were unresolvable. Neighbors who couldn’t look at each other. Parents who couldn’t be in the same room. People who came in certain they’d end up in court, and left with an agreement they wrote themselves.
The faces and the technology have changed over the years. The mission hasn’t: resolve conflict, restore relationships, and strengthen communities.
Our Division Director, Judy Axelrod, oversees the program. Here’s how she describes what makes a good mediator:
“I’ve learned that some of the most impactful volunteer mediators are people who simply care about helping others. If you’re a good listener, enjoy helping people work through challenges, and want to make a difference, you may have what it takes. We can teach the process. Bring your passion for helping others, and join us in building stronger communities.”
Our mediators come from every kind of background: educators, HR professionals, attorneys, retirees, and neighbors who show up because they believe resolution is possible. If that sounds like you, our next Basic Mediation Training runs July 20 to 24, 2026, followed by an Apprenticeship Program August 3 to 5, 2026. The training program does have an enrollment fee, and registration is open now.
We’d especially welcome more professionals from the legal and HR communities. If your firm or organization is looking for meaningful ways to engage and develop your team, this training is a strong fit, and we’d love to have you.
And it’s a community. Ask our volunteers what keeps them coming back and they’ll tell you it’s the people: a close-knit, like-minded group that is passionate about peace and has as much fun as it does good.
- July 1: Launch of our new contract with the New York State Unified Court System
- July 20 to 24: Basic Mediation Training (enroll here)
- July 28: Volunteer Luncheon, celebrating the people who make this work possible
- August 3 to 5: Apprenticeship Program
None of this is possible without partners who share our conviction that cost should never be a barrier to resolution. We’re deeply grateful to the New York State Office of Court Administration and the New York State Unified Court System, the New York State Bar Foundation, the New York State Dispute Resolution Association, and the National Association for Community Mediation. Their investment is what keeps our doors open and our services available to everyone who needs them.
This summer, we’re making it easier than ever to connect with us, whether you need help resolving a dispute, want to add mediation to your professional skill set, or simply believe that how a community handles conflict says something about who it is.
If you’re ready to resolve a dispute, visit eac-network.org or call us to get started. If you’re ready to become a mediator, enrollment for our July 20 to 24 Basic Mediation Training is open now, and we’d love to have you at the table.
After more than forty years of this work, I keep coming back to the same simple truth: the most powerful thing that can happen in a conflict is for two people to sit down, listen to each other, and begin finding a way forward.
By Neela Mukherjee Lockel, CEO and President, EAC Network
EAC Network’s Long Island Dispute Resolution Centers serve Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.
