A summer group

[uni]

Hi it's me. I've been reading some of the posts but not posting myself for reasons I won't bore you with here. What I'd like to do though is pick a few brains regarding face-to-face support groups.

I'm thinking of getting a very loosely organized group of people together in my community. Summers are long, myself and some others don't do well with hot weather, and on weekends are often at loose ends. A lot of regular activities,workplaces,groups, etc. break for the summer or don't operate as often. For those with mood disorders and/or anxiety it can be quite isolating, especially people who live alone or have no family nearby.

Anyway, this is just a seed at this point and my goal is small and temporary: find maybe half a dozen people or so, get a place to meet for cheap or free (air conditioned) sometime on Saturdays or Sundays just for the summer months. Maybe every week, maybe every two weeks. Not sure what sort of meeting structure to use; discussion of course, but some focus is needed. Maybe use a simple self-help study book? I am will to "lead" it, preferably with a backup person, but only if it's kept very simple because I don't want to put pressure on myself that I don't need.

So what kind of brain pickin's can you give me?

[paul m]

Hello Uni. Good to hear from you. I hope that you have been well. Getting a group together is a great idea. Places that you might meet are churches, mental health outlets like CMHA, some stores have meeting rooms and/or the library might have a room. Places to advertise it: Bulletin boards around town, the library, mental health outlets. If you do get started have a few rules , such as no two people talking at once, everything is confidential. Good Luck. Take Care. paul m

[Pangea]

Hi Uni!

I'm new to this forum, but I have organized small "get-togethers" back in high school.
My favorite place was the simple coffee shop. People feel cozy, we can get a hot coco or tea, coffee and chat for hours.
Oh, the park is nice too. We'd bring snacks and juice to help - everyone would be looking forward to trying new goodies.
The library is nice as well, like Paul said. Although i personally associate it with more serious work and will less likely open myself up to genuine conversation.
That's just my thought!

About getting people together... It's always tough because people who are not ready to talk must not feel pressured to talk. In my opinion, it will definitely help to have
a few friends who don't mind just being there to share a few experiences and alleviate the mood... I know in my experience that I always preferred trying to help others
in their difficult time rather than focus on my own. That's what helped me most.

Have fun organizing!
G'luck! <3

[AJ]

Welcome to the forum Pangea.

[uni]

Thanks for the suggestions Paul and Pangea; they are all good!

For starters I've approached a handful of people I'm acquainted with well enough to feel comfortable. I believe two are very likely to come, two will possibly come, one is temporarily unavailable and one has not responded. There are a couple more I have yet to contact. I've lined up a small place to meet for free in a closed retail space, at least for one or two meetings. Now to narrow down the actual day and time. So far, so good. Will report further if anyone is interested in knowing how things go.

[AJ]

Keep us posted Uni!

[uni]

An update. I was going to wait until next weekend to embark on the group, but it happened today, Canada Day, instead. Smack dab in the middle of a long weekend there were 5 of us free and willing to meet, so we did. Most of the meeting was introductions, sharing of ideas and expectations, and practicalities. Everyone wants another meeting next week. So far, so good

[AJ]

That's awesome Uni!

[paul m]

Congrats Uni. That is awesome. Take Care. paul m

[uni]

Thanks AJ and Paul. We were down to three of us at the second meeting but it was worthwhile. Will see what this Sunday brings.

[uni]

Well, business is not exactly booming on the summer group front. Last week there was only myself and one other person. Mind you, we had a good "meeting" if you can call it that, so it wasn't for nothing.
I had heard from one member who said they don't feel like they fit in very well. Another person had something come up and may be back. Another one said they'd come but didn't. Finally, a person who has been away from home is now back and wants to try the group. So I'll open the doors on Sunday again and see what happens. Whatever it is I'm ok with it, and glad I'm doing this experiment. An hour in air conditioning on a hot summer day suits me. And I'll bring a book to read if I get tired of my own company

[AJ]

Summer is usually a bit more of a challenge to get people to commit. I think it's the sun part of the summer that gets in the way. You may get more people in the fall.

[uni]

Yes AJ. I think that's true. The nature of this group was hit and miss anyway, as the idea is for it to be drop-in (which I may have forgotten to mention). Regardless of how things go, I'm learning a few things that may be helpful down the line for me and/or others. Some things are pretty obvious, but either underestimated or overlooked by me, such as the amount of time it takes for people to feel comfortable as a group, the difficulty in structuring the actual activity (sharing? reading? etc.) by consensus rather than pre-ordained by a "leader", and the size of the pool of potential participants to begin with.

The bottom line for me is whether anyone (including myself) is being helped, even in a small way, by attending, I know that a couple of people have, so that is satisfying enough for me to open the doors again this Sunday.

[AJ]

Keep us posted on how it goes this Sunday.

[uni]

Will do. I heard from one person since the last meeting who forgot about it and was disappointed to have missed. They plan to come next time, which would be nice.