Increasing demand for family mediation is recognised this week with a grant award to England and Wales’ leading provider of the service.
National Family Mediation (NFM), a registered charity which delivers mediation services in over 500 community locations, has received the award from Therium Access, the not-for-profit arm of Therium Group Holdings Limited, one of the world’s leading providers of litigation, arbitration and specialty legal finance.
The grant will enable NFM to employ an additional call handler to provide early advice and arrange mediation for families going through divorce or separation.
NFM’s CEO, Jane Robey, said: “Demand for our call handlers has increased significantly over the past year. They do a fantastic job, and each call to our office represents a family needing assistance to manage their separation.
“We are delighted with this grant award, which will help us provide an even more responsive service to support separating families through our telephone helplines.
“NFM is grateful to Therium Access for recognising the value of early advice, good quality information, and mediated agreements.
“The work we do impacts upon the whole of the family legal process. It keeps people out of the court system in a pre-emptive way by providing them alternative means to resolve disputes. This enables them to reach settlements in a more streamlined, simpler, non-confrontational way.
“Legal aid cuts mean we support many more people who are self-funding, with no access to professional legal advice. Early support and guidance can transform the separation journey undertaken by these people, helping them reach just and fair settlements.”
