It is an effective, neutral, and binding way to assist conflicting parties in solving their own problems with the help of a trained mediator. Basically any conflict can be mediated if both parties are open to the idea of settling the dispute.
Every conflict offers a chance to learn and to build trust.
Participants in mediation learn from and about each other, and usually find common understandings and solutions. It may not make people friends, but it is a recipe for greater neighborliness. They had someone her age at the mediation session, and they had a mother my age. We started talking. That was the hardest thing I think I've ever done.