Mediation can help to facilitate any discussion between parties who are in conflict or having difficulty. Mediation can occur in cases where someone is thinking about or has started a legal action. For example in a case where family issues are involved such as divorce or custody or between a victim and an offender in a criminal case. My neighbour once went to a mediation because he had a fight with another neighbour who had a barking dog. He did not pay for that mediation.
Some organizations provide mediators who work as volunteers.
These mediators do not get paid. The organizations try to resolve these conflicts by using mediation to avoid court proceedings and hostility. My friend got into trouble because she took her parent's car and crashed it while with some friends. Her parents were already worried about other things she'd done with these friends, so they reported the theft to the police. The police said that instead of charging her, they will send the case to victim-offender mediation.