Things You'll Need:
- Someone’s home for the initial meeting; refreshments
- Sign-in sheet
- Copies of meeting agenda
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Step 1
Find parents in the community who might be interested in a parent support group. Ask at your child’s school, at religious institutions, local public libraries, medical facilities, summer camps and community bulletin boards. Word of mouth is also a good source.
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Step 2
Invite potential members to a “Get to Know You” meeting without children. A home is the best place to hold it since people are more comfortable in that setting.
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Step 3
After refreshments and introductions, tell the group why you, as the convener, think a parent support group would be helpful. Give each person a few moments to share interests and concerns. Typical concerns include positive communication, setting boundaries, coping strategies, living without guilt, getting information about health problems and advocacy. Find out what situations the parents have in common. Ask them to share the areas where they need help and where they can contribute effective strategies for problem-solving.
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Step 4
Discuss how the group will function, including members’ roles. Possible roles could be getting information and reporting to the group, finding speakers, creating a newsletter, responding to crisis calls and sending meeting notices. Ask members to choose roles based on their areas of personal strength, expertise or greatest interest.
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Step 5
Decide on the ground rules for the group such as confidentiality, meeting structure, attendance requirements, fees for expenses, and leadership.
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Step 6
Find out which participants want to be group members. Decide on the date, time, topic and assignments for the first official meeting.
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Step 7
Send a written note or email to everyone who came to the “Get to Know You” meeting to thank them for attending.
