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Who we are
Promoting Conflict Resolution Inc. was founded by neighbors who believe most conflict is not about being right or wrong — it is about being unheard. We work alongside Boston families to turn tension into understanding, and isolation into community.
Our mission
That sentence is deliberately plain, because the work is. Violence in a neighborhood rarely begins with violence. It begins with a disagreement nobody could name, a parent and a child who stopped speaking the same language, a young person who never saw an adult repair a relationship instead of walking away from it.
PCR Inc. intervenes upstream. We provide free family mediation services in Boston, restorative circles in schools and community rooms, literacy programming that strengthens the critical thinking behind good decisions, and technology training that closes the gap between what parents understand and what their children are living online. Each of these is a lever on the same outcome: fewer conflicts that escalate, more families that stay whole.
Youth empowerment sits at the center of that mission. When young people are equipped with the tools to resolve conflict respectfully and to think critically about their decisions, they are better prepared to become successful, responsible adults. Many of the challenges facing our communities stem from unresolved conflict and a lack of positive coping strategies. Addressing that early is how cycles of violence and instability get broken.
Founder & Director
Promoting Conflict Resolution, Inc.
Renee leads PCR Inc. with more than three decades of frontline experience and a deep belief that strong families build strong communities.
Renee P. Callender founded Promoting Conflict Resolution Inc. after a career spent at the point where family conflict and public safety meet. Over more than thirty-six years in law enforcement — at the city, state, and federal levels — she specialized in crimes against children, work that placed her inside households on their hardest days and taught her a lesson that shapes everything PCR Inc. does: by the time an agency is called, the moment when the situation could have been resolved has usually already passed.
A U.S. Army veteran and former adjunct professor, Renee built PCR Inc. to reach families earlier — with mediation, mentorship, literacy, and restorative practice offered freely, before a disagreement becomes a case file. She leads the organization from the same neighborhoods it serves, and holds it to a simple standard: meet people where they are, listen before advising, and stay after the session ends.
Our method
We are a small organization, so we refuse to guess. Every program we run is designed around what residents tell us they need, measured against participation and follow-through, and adjusted in the open.
Programs start with conversations at kitchen tables, school pickup lines, and community meetings across Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan. We build what residents ask for, in the rooms they already trust, at the hours they can actually attend.
We track attendance, repeat participation, referral follow-through, and whether families report feeling heard. Those indicators tell us more about durable change than a single satisfaction survey ever could, and they guide where we place our next facilitator.
Literacy circles, chess, and technology training all build the same underlying capacity: the ability to slow down, consider consequences, and choose a response. Skills learned over a board or a book show up later in a hallway, a household, or a hard conversation.
Conflict resolution is not a one-hour event. We follow up with families, connect them to partner organizations for housing, food, or clinical support, and keep the door open for the next chapter without requiring anyone to start over.
What we mean by conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is the process of addressing challenges through communication, understanding, accountability, and mutual respect in order to create healthier relationships and stronger communities. Through mentorship, guided support, and community-centered engagement, PCR Inc. helps facilitate that process in meaningful and lasting ways.
Practical, judgment-free support for households under strain. No diagnosis, no lecture, no file that follows you. Just a trained facilitator, a structured conversation, and a plan the family writes for itself.
How mediation worksThrough guided conversations, restorative circles, and community workshops, we help families move beyond conflict by creating space for understanding, accountability, and resolution throughout the broader community.
Restorative practiceChess for Peace brings Boston families together through strategy, connection, and community. Welcoming sessions designed to inspire focus, critical thinking, and friendly competition across the board.
Chess for PeaceWhere we are headed
Specific commitments, reviewed by our board, moved directly by donations and volunteer hours.
Goal 01
150
Growing our reach by adding facilitators, mentors, and weekend office hours across more Boston neighborhoods.
Goal 02
8
Expanding throughout Boston — Mattapan, Hyde Park, East Boston, Charlestown, Roslindale, Roxbury, Dorchester, and beyond.
Goal 03
More
Chess for Peace is just the start. Parenting workshops, literacy circles, and family connection nights are next.
Neighborhoods we serve
Our programming is designed to travel. If your block, school, church, or tenant association wants a session, we will bring the chairs.
Family mediation, literacy circles, and chess nights hosted in partnership with neighborhood organizations.
Restorative circles and youth mentorship built alongside Lower Roxbury coalitions and school partners.
Parenting workshops and family connection nights focused on communication and de-escalation.
Community engagement events and resource navigation for families seeking local support.
Expansion neighborhood for weekend office hours and volunteer-led programming.
Growth area for multilingual outreach and family communication workshops.
Planned site for youth empowerment sessions and mentorship pairings.
Partner referrals, collaborative arts programming, and citywide fundraising events.
Support the mission
Every gift underwrites mediation sessions, literacy circles, chess sets, and the facilitators who sit with Boston families when tension runs highest. One hundred percent of donations stay in the neighborhoods we serve.
Donate to PCR Inc.Give your time
Coach a chess night, staff a resource table, mentor a teen, or lend professional skills to a growing Boston nonprofit organization. We will match you with volunteer opportunities that fit your schedule and strengths.
Explore volunteer roles