Justice Center Helps Keep Neighbors, Families Out of Court

Whenever she can, Joan Noble jumps at the opportunity to tell people about the Southshore Justice Center.

As coordinator of the center, it's a subject that's near and dear to her heart. And in her time with the center, she's seen feuding families come together, quarreling neighbors make peace and cheated consumers find justice.

"Yet, there are still residents who don't know about our services and how we can help them resolve problems," said Noble.

Located in the Southshore Regional Service Center, 410 30th St. S.E., Ruskin, the Community Justice Center is financed by the Hillsborough County Commission to give residents a free alternative to going to court.

Instead, residents can seek mediation through the justice center for problems including animal nuisance complaints, owed money, consumer issues, contract disputes, landlord/tenant problems, neighborhood disputes, family conflicts, employee/employer disagreements and claims of unsatisfactory service.

"When people come to us, mediation is set up to help people work through their issues," Noble said. "We don't dictate outcomes. We're also not accountable when there is no resolution. But we do have a 75 percent success rate for anything that goes to mediation."

Should an agreement not be reached, the matter is referred to an agency, such as the Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Agency, or the parties then can take the matter to court, she said.

"Mediation allows the parties to discuss the issues informally with an impartial third person, the mediator, assisting," she said. "It's a nonjudicial process and mediation is completely voluntary. It's intended as a complement to the court system."

The mediators are members of the community who are trained in resolving conflicts, explained Noble.

"We have a wonderful group of mediators who generously give of their time," said Noble. "Mediation can last from an hour and a half to seven hours."

Problems that may seem trivial to outsiders can develop into major disputes between two people, such as who will get the pet dog following a divorce, she said.

"It may seem trivial to us, but it's important to them," said Noble. "We're dealing with people from different cultures with different value systems, and we take all disputes seriously."

For more information, call 813-672-7442 or e-mail southshorejusticecen@fljud13.org.