The Hmong 18 Council was established in 1997 after a distraught Hmong mother took the lives of her six children. Hmong community leaders representing 18 clans came together to assure that the Hmong population would have the knowledge of and access to medical, social service and judicial resources in order to avert another tragedy. The Council focuses on prevention and attempts to resolve conflicts through mediation to avert a crisis. The Council initially started as a resource for the court system, serving to bridge the gap between traditional Hmong cultural practices and the American judicial system. Recognizing the growing need for conflict resolution and more importantly that mediation takes into consideration cultural values, the Council developed a Certified Mediator Program in 1999. In conjunction with Hamline University’s nationally recognized conflict resolution program, the Council has trained 30 Hmong mediators who are certified by the State of Minnesota.
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