Take Two...My Response...Hope this one helps a little..
Sorry my last response was way too analytical of a post. It's my black and white thinking taking over again.
I agree we have lots of veterans members that are supportive in this group and I like supporting others which I can do. I also like to give the new members a little elbow room so that they can bond the way new members bond with each other when they are first starting their quits..Thats if there is more than one member quiting at the same time. I can offer positive support to others but at the same time must not ignore my own continued sobriety either. I am welling to give new members a cherry welcome to the site and offer support when possible.
We are not in a position to change/add any working staff currently. I was hoping to get the group thinking about what we do already have (members, thread starters, relationships, etc,etc.) and using our strengths to get more activity in the site. I was hoping to aim for change from within. With the help of members and the group as a whole you would be surprised at what we can create!
One thing that may be help is a greater presence of a educator on a daily basis, a site/forum moderator, and a trained group leader. The person/persons doing these jobs need to be a neutral third party. It can not and should not be one of the group members ever. If we had a neutral leader on a consistent basis who is not a participating member of the support group than this may make it a more relaxed group where the participants both new to the group and veterans of the group could relax more and enjoy the group. The idea is that this could/would make it possible for the members of the support group to concentrate on working the program that is offered on the site here if so inclined and everyone could enjoy the program and the support group as equals and equally on this site..
We all know that this support group has a special group of members and we want to keep it that way. We also want to build on the many strengths we already have. This thread will be dedicated to doing just that. This will be a thread where we share ideas on how to grow this community and make it stronger. This isn’t about technical requests or complaints (save that for the feedback section please). This is a thread where members organize to touch more lives and to make this place a more fulfilling outlet for everyone.
One of the greatest strengths we have in this community is our veteran members. I hope that our veteran members add their input in here as they see fit as this community would not exist without them. I also hope our new members share their thoughts as the more new voices we have the stronger we become!
I want the members here to lead this growth and organization of efforts because you all are the life blood of this site. But to get the discussion flowing here are some questions you may want to think and write about: What do you think is important to focus on in growing this community? What can the members do to aid this? What are your gifts and what are the gifts of the other members that we can utilize? How can the members and Health Educators make this place a more welcoming place for all? What are our community’s strengths?
