Mediation and Restorative Justice Center

10/15/2026

October 15 is Conflict Resolution Day!

Conflict is a natural part of being human. How we respond to it can make all the difference.

Today is a reminder that listening with curiosity, making space for different perspectives, and approaching disagreements with care can help us move from conflict toward understanding.

At the Mediation & Restorative Justice Center, we believe that conflict can be an opportunity to build connection, strengthen relationships, and find a path forward together. Through mediation and restorative practices, we help people navigate difficult conversations, address harm, and work toward meaningful resolutions.

You don't have to agree on everything to listen to one another. Sometimes, a willingness to listen is where resolution begins.

Today, let's choose curiosity over assumptions, conversation over avoidance, and connection over division.

09/26/2026

1-4 pm behind the Leon Levine Building- at the corner of State Farm Road and Deerfield, near Watauga Medical Center

09/24/2026

Today is Save a Life Day! Come get trained in overdose reversal and pick up some free naloxone

09/16/2026

📣The Watauga Long Term Recovery Group is inviting you to Hope After Helene 2.0 Resource Fair!

🩵Join the Emotional and Spiritual Support subgroup of the Watauga Long-Term Recovery Group for an afternoon of connection, support, and community resources.

📅 Saturday, September 26
⏰ 1:00–4:00 p.m. (Please note the corrected end time)
📍 Leon Levine Hall of Health Sciences State Farm Road, Boone

Please help us spread the word by sharing this post with friends, neighbors, and families who may benefit from these resources. Together, we continue to support healing and recovery throughout Watauga County.

09/16/2026

There is still time to register for this Saturday’s High Adversity Resilience Training (HART)!

If your work involves responding to emergencies, supporting others through difficult situations, or regularly operating in high-stress environments, this free training is an opportunity to learn practical strategies that can support resilience and stress management both on and off the job.

The training is also open to community members, including those who were involved in the response to Hurricane Helene. Lunch will be provided!

📅 Saturday, September 19th
⏰ 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
📍 SAM Center at Mayland Community College, Spruce Pine

See the flyer for additional details and scan the QR code to register. Please share with someone in our community who may benefit from this opportunity.

09/15/2026

Come see us at National Night Out, by the Watauga County Rec Center!

09/15/2026

08/29/2026

We're Hiring! Join the MRJC/ Homestead Recovery Center Team
Our team is growing — and we’re looking for two passionate, community-oriented individuals to join our team!

~Embedded Peer Support Specialist~
In partnership with the Town of Boone Police Department, this position serves as part of a co-response team, working alongside a designated officer to respond to behavioral health, substance use, and other community needs. The Embedded Peer Support Specialist provides on-scene peer support, crisis response, and follow-up connections to treatment, recovery services, housing, and other community resources.
Applicants should bring lived experience in recovery, strong communication and collaboration skills, and the ability to work effectively alongside law enforcement while maintaining the values and boundaries of peer support. NC Peer Support Specialist certification is preferred at hire and required within 90 days of employment.
This position works a rotating 8:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m., four days on/four days off (4-on/4-off) schedule, including weekdays and weekends. Agency-observed holidays are excluded.

~Avery Peer Support Specialist ~
This position will support individuals involved with or at risk of involvement in the justice system due to substance use, mental health, or behavioral health challenges. The role focuses on peer support, outreach, recovery support, advocacy, transportation, community engagement, and helping individuals navigate systems of care.
We’re looking for someone who is compassionate, community-minded, recovery-oriented, and passionate about walking alongside people as they work toward stability and wellness. Lived experience is valued, and NC Certified Peer Support Specialist certification is strongly preferred.
This is meaningful, relationship-centered work serving Avery County.

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Both positions are full-time, and part of our mission to create pathways of healing, recovery, and community connection across the High Country.

Apply for the Embedded Peer Support Specialist position on Indeed: https://www.indeed.com/job/embedded-peer-support-specialist-889f90bbe0f9a5f1

TO APPLY PLEASE COMPLETE INDEED APPLICATION AND SUBMIT:
- Resume
- Contact information for three (3) professional references
- Cover letter.

APPLICATIONS MISSING THE ABOVE DOCUMENTS WILL NOT BE REVIEWED OR CONSIDERED

To apply for the Avery Peer Support position please reach out directly to Mollie Bolick at [email protected] with the above documents and information.

07/20/2026

Shout out to our Avery Outreach Program! We are grateful for the support and partnership of Avery County.

“Marisa Cornell, executive director of the Mediation and Restorative Justice Center, said the county’s opioid settlement funding has dramatically expanded the organization’s reach over the past year. She said outreach coordinator Britney Matheson now manages about 30 active clients, nearly quadrupling last year’s caseload, while the organization has strengthened partnerships with local providers, particularly Freedom Life Avery.

The organization also launched “Wheels of Change,” a mobile outreach unit that has held weeklong pop-up events across the county since December, providing food, clothing, naloxone, hygiene supplies and peer support.

Community Programs and Outreach Specialist Mackenzie Laney said Matheson served 64 clients through case management over the past year and facilitated 42 weekly SMART Recovery meetings after becoming a certified facilitator. Attendance has grown from an average of 15 participants to 27 over the past three months, with one meeting drawing 34 people, Laney said.

Matheson described her role as providing transportation, case management, peer support, recovery court participation and help connecting clients to treatment and housing.

‘My role is not to judge where they are, but to support them at every stage,’ Matheson told commissioners. ‘By meeting people where they are, I can create a meaningful relationship that fosters lasting change and recovery.’”

NEWLAND — Avery County commissioners renewed a key board appointment, approved $150,000 in opioid settlement funding, adopted a series of budget amendments tied to grants and Hurricane Helene recovery, and