Group Guidelines

This is a community building group, not a therapy group. The goal of this group is to provide emotional, social and moral support for one other, in an organic way, by building friendships and community.

By using this code of conduct as a guideline for group participation, we will develop a safe space that enables us to build and maintain trust in one another, and feel comfortable sharing our thoughts and feelings.

Confidentiality

Because confidentiality is essential, each person will respect and maintain the confidentiality of the group. We will not repeat what is shared by others at any other time or place.

Courtesy and Respect

We share our own feelings and experiences, and offer up what has worked for us; we don't, however, give advice to others or try to "fix" things for them. Use "I" statements, don't tell each other what to do. We are all equally responsible for making our group work. Although we share common experiences, we recognize that we are all unique and no single solution will work for everyone. We will take what works and disregard what doesn't.

No one person's needs are greater or more important than others! We respect each other as individuals and realize that we are all equal in our struggles, remember that people can drown in a foot of water as easily as they can drown in 10 feet of water! NEVER MINIMIZE ANOTHER'S STRUGGLES OR EXPERIENCES - NO ONE IS BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE!

We cultivate an attitude of acceptance for ourselves and others, just as we are and avoid making judgments. We are all our own people, equal in each other's eyes. It should go without saying, but racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or any other type of discrimination will NOT be TOLERATED!

We begin and end our meetings on time. The doors will be locked 15 minutes after the start time. This is for the safety of all attendees and to allow volunteers to participate in the group.

This group is VOLUNTEER-RUN. It goes without saying that ALL people deserve respect and compassion, but please remember our volunteers are just people. We are not here on a professional level, we are not paid to be here, and we don't give our time to running these events to be treated poorly. No one is perfect, and calm, respectful and constructive communication is appreciated. Disrespect of volunteers will result in immediate suspension from the group.

We understand emotions can run high at times for everyone. However, any displays of aggression or violence will not be tolerated and will result in expulsion from the group!

RESPECT THE RULES OR YOU WILL NO LONGER BE WELCOME - WE ALL DESERVE RESPECT AND SAFETY!

We reserve the right to modify these guidelines at any time.