Organizing a support group could be a great experience
or a very discouraging one. Coordinating peer support groups can be
rewarding when you find and work with people that have common concerns and
situations. The key to a positive support group is good
planning. Considering the who, what, when, and where are important first
steps.
What
is the reason for forming the support group? It has been noted there
are currently no grandparents raising grandchildren support groups in the
county of Allegany, New York. Data has been collected that has
indicated that there are approximately 100 grandparents within this county
raising grandchildren due to non-participating or absent parents. The
considerations for the forming of this group are to support those families in
need. The grandparents of these families have realized that they
have made a conscious choice to raise their grandchildren. This
commitment has come at a very high price for them. They have
realized that “retirement “now is only a dream and they have taken on
tremendous responsibilities both emotionally and financially. By keeping these
factors in mind, a mission statement is formulated. The mission
statement for this support group is “making a difference in the lives of
grandparents raising their grandchildren by sharing concerns, experiences and
solutions within their own neighborhoods”.
The
functioning of a good support group is having good attendance and active
members of the group. There are many steps to take to ensure
success.
Determine:
Who
is welcome to attend the meetings? Both grandparents and their
grandchildren are welcome to attend this meeting, working together for a common
cause. Preparation to include the children at meeting times is
crucial. Grandparents live on limited income and need respite care
for the children and if children are not included in the meeting times, then
grandparents will not be able to attend.
What
is the reason for forming the support group? To provide peer support for grandparents
who are raising their grandchildren.
When
will the support group meet? Weekly meetings will occur during the first year
of the support group. Special considerations should be explored to
possibly take a break around holidays or continue during the stressful holiday
times when bio parents perhaps reenter the situation. This can be
determined and voted on by the group as a whole. Weekly meetings will
occur on Thursday evenings from 6pm-7:30 pm. at least for the first year of
establishing the group. During the second year we may consider bimonthly
meetings. The meeting should be a consistent time, place and duration and
if the meeting needs to go more than 1.5 hours, the group will need to
determine this by a consensus. 6-7:30 pm is the most desired time because it is
after the dinner hour, not too late for a school night, during a week night,
and near the end of a possible frustrating week that brings many issues up for
discussion.
Where
will the support group meet? Setting a meeting location in a public building is
the best solution. Public buildings provide free use providing a
safe, well lit, heated environment with public restrooms, handicapped
accessibility, good parking and additional rooms for a variety of
activities. Consider using libraries, churches or schools. Ideally
there should be five sites in different geographical areas in Allegany
County. Local neighborhood schools are a good choice because it is close
to their homes, provides good services for free, and is connected to the
educational staff of their grandchildren and provides additional space for a
variety of activities. Be sure to contact the school and make
arrangements including doing building use forms to reserve certain areas. Five
sites is a good start for about 100 people. A good group size is
approximately 15-20 people taking into account times that some participants are
absent. If the group gets too large or too small it can inhibit
participation. As time passes and if it is noted that the group is
dwindling, the site can be directed to join a more active location. After
the first meeting occurs, continue the movement and communication of the group
through email or telephone contact on a weekly basis. This will make the group
more cohesive and actively involved.
As
a leader of a support group the leader needs to find others that are willing to
volunteer to get the project started. People agree to volunteer with
projects that they are personally vested. Meet with the volunteers
and assign them different activities that each volunteer is responsible
for. This gives them direction and helps them take
responsibility. One of these volunteers may very well surface as a
long- term leader of the group. Consider energy, interest in the
project, flexibility, and desire for this to be successful when selecting a
potential leader. This will set the stage for the group to take ownership,
operate and promote longevity. Meet with these volunteers very early
on so that they feel that they are part of the long-term planning and what
direction the support group will go.
Advertising
the project is a big part of making a support group successful. The
volunteers can get the news out about the meeting by word of mouth, hanging
flyers, posting ads in the local paper, networking with other groups, using
free online sites or design the group’s own web page. Promoting the
support group through the local schools will assist with getting the word
out. Designing a brochure would promote and explain the support
group. Consider the number that needs to be printed and the cost of
each brochure. The school may be willing to include the brochure in their local
newsletter to the homes of their students. Hang advertisements in frequently
used and visible places such as banks, post offices, school bulletin boards,
churches and libraries which are very public sites. Make sure that
the volunteers ask permission before advertising. Ask the volunteers
to contact potential attendees by phone or email one to two days before each
meeting. This sends a message of feeling welcome and also as a
reminder.
Make a checklist of items that need to be
accomplished before the first meeting. The leader needs to be
prepared, organized and welcoming.
∙Confirm meeting place and areas of the facility to
be utilized.
∙Plan a snack for the adults as well as the children
and consider finger foods that are desirable to different age groups.
∙Have a sign in sheet which includes contact
information and child care needs. This will make it easier in the
future to be able to contact attendees and have appropriate support for the
children.
∙Make plans for activities that the children will do
during the meeting that the adults are attending. Schools make a good site
because many rooms are available; there is a gym area, different books and
educational materials. Enlist volunteers (that are documented as child safe) to
assist with the supervision of the children during this time and consider adult
to child ratios especially with children who have special needs.
∙Set up tables and chairs in the area if needed,
however in a school environment much of this prep work has already been
accomplished for large groups.
∙Greet each person at the door and make them feel
welcome.
∙Request that everyone register and hand out pertinent
information. This would be an opportune time to give everyone a brochure about
the program and a list of government agencies that they may find helpful.
∙Start on time and end on time.
∙Be prepared to run the first meeting
yourself. Be sure to introduce yourself and the reason for the
meeting. You may request the group to introduce themselves as well,
but everyone should wear a name tag.
∙Setting up ground rules and expectations are needed
in the very beginning to set the tone and direction of the support group. An
effective group will understand and respect confidentiality, maintain honesty
and sensitivity.
∙Let everyone know what is planned for that
particular meeting.
∙Direct the meeting keeping the discussion
appropriate and not letting any one person dominate the conversation.
∙Encourage attendees to tell a little bit about
themselves.
∙Have fun.
∙Encourage attendees to listen to each other and
provide support for each other.
∙NEVER give advice.
∙Facilitate problem solving techniques within the
group.
∙Keep side conversations at a minimum to decrease
distractions and facilitate that they can share their comments to the group as
a whole.
∙Summarize the meeting near the end leaving time for
questions and answer.
∙Ask the group what guest speakers they may be
interested in coming to their meeting. Make suggestions such as health
care providers, health insurance personnel, behavioral counselors, drug and
alcohol counselors, legal professionals or special education teachers. Many of
the community members would be willing to donate an hour and a half of their
time for one meeting to facilitate a group with concerns.
∙Ask if the group is interested in future outings
such as area parks, ball games, cook outs, group board games or museums.
∙Ask the group if one or two people are able to
volunteer providing the refreshments for future meetings.
∙Ask at the close of each meeting what the group
would like to discuss at future meetings or what guest speakers they may feel
would be appropriate for their needs. This will give them control of the
meetings and make them feel accepted discussing topics that are personally
applicable.
∙Remind everyone of the next meeting time, date and
site.
∙NEVER cancel a meeting. It can make participants
feel discouraged and they may lose interest.
∙Encourage everyone to tell others about the
meetings, plan to attend again and bring a friend.
∙After the meeting if there was a particular need
that an attendee brought up in conversation give them a call at home and
discuss a referral agency or other resources that may be helpful for them
giving them the contact information they will need to reach out for additional
support.
∙Meet with the volunteers to discuss the meeting.
The
budget constraints are to be reviewed at the end of each week that there is a
meeting. Future meetings can be planned with some paid guests, but asking
volunteers from the community would aid in the budget for other future
meetings. Fundraisers such as a car wash or a bake sale are good
ways to ease the drain of money from the budget depending upon how the
participants may feel about those types of activities and the children may be
of appropriate ages to help. Ask participants and the original volunteers to
plan such activities together. This will help them take ownership
and promote future success of the support group.
A
detailed evaluation of the support group and its progress is to be documented
on a monthly basis. The final report will be easier to compile when
it is reviewed by Professor Smith from the Human Services Department at Alfred
State College. A complete review will occur on an annual basis.
When
extensive preplanning happens it will help avoid having a meeting that is out
of control. For instance bio parents may attend the meeting and begin to
discuss frustrations. This can be a positive situation and opens the door
to you referring them to the appropriate agency that can help address their
issues. This is a good time to distribute to them the brochure about
the support group and the handout of government agencies with contact
information. When a meeting is not going in a constructive direction and it is
difficult to gain control, you may have to ask some participants to leave the
meeting and/or adjourn the meeting. Thank everyone for coming and remind the
attendees that the meetings are for grandparents. Grandparents may
feel that the meeting was not beneficial and too controversial and therefore
may not want to attend again. The next day after the meeting, make
contact with each grandparent that attended and reassure them that future
meetings will take a positive direction and you are looking forward to meeting
with them again.
Growth
of a support group can occur by continuing formal advertising and by word of
mouth. This support group would flourish by joining the already recognized
larger agency, AARP. To have an ongoing project requires a lot of
pre-planning and encouraging participants to take ownership. Many of
the steps already discussed will help facilitate this project to be
successful. A positive, delegating and supportive attitude while
working with participants will facilitate growth and longevity. At the end of
two years I feel that the grandparent raising grandchildren support group will
be an active and valued force in Allegany County.
Works Cited
Kiser, Pamela Myers (2012). The Human Services
Internship. 3rd Edition. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
