Blog

June 8^th, 2020

Community Groups (Passport)

By Ben Sauder, Adult & Community Groups Coordinator 

For the past couple of years, the Community Groups, formerly the Adult Respite Fun Groups, has developed into a Passport fee for service opportunity for individuals to meet new people with similar interests, increase independence and enhance community safety skills.

One of the major changes that has contributed to these goals is the use of public transit. Groups establish a weekly meeting spot near the transit spine, which provides accessibility, consistency, and familiarity. Community facilitators will travel with the group on public transit to the mutually agreed upon activities.

As we strive to meet the needs of the people we support, we’ve noticed that many of the individuals we’ve welcomed over this fiscal year do not require 1:1 support, and are rather looking for opportunities to connect with others and learn more about what’s going on in their community. This need has been reflected in the growth of the Community Groups, going from 3 groups to 7 groups, and welcoming 13 new members. 

As I look forward to the new fiscal year, I’m excited to create more groups, and in equal importance, develop opportunities for growth both for the members and also the Community Facilitators. The long term goal is for these groups is to be member-led without paid facilitation, which will require clear expectations, planning and evaluation. Creative coaching will be needed to marry the skill development ‘work’ and the fun aspects of this opportunity. 

A large contribution to the growth of the Community Groups is due to coordinator referrals, as they have built relationships with the people they support. Due to comfort levels, their presence in the initial meeting is often needed. One of the individuals that Rebecca supports experiences high anxiety in social settings, self-described as a “social phobia” and requested that Rebecca attend the meeting with her. Prior to the meeting, Rebecca shared that she might be very shy and struggles with anxiety.

Throughout the meeting, this person was very engaged, asked lots of questions about the group and seemed very excited about this opportunity. In addition, she shared that this smaller group will hopefully prepare her for participation in a larger group, such as the Weekend Social Club, which is a group of 15 people. Rebecca’s presence in the meeting allowed her to feel safe, which allowed her to ask questions and speak openly about her fears, excitement and interests. Although, after I left the room, Rebecca reported that she exhaled and admitted that instead of making eye contact, she was actually looking at my forehead the whole time. 

An observation I’ve made over the years is that connection between members takes time and the facilitator plays a huge role in starting and carrying on the conversation. There are many reasons for this such as positionality, privilege and personal barriers. One individual that I recently met expressed that he gets nervous meeting new people and takes time for him to open up in groups. I was expecting that when I introduced him to the group, the conversation would be facilitator-led and he wouldn’t say much. Unintentionally, the other members arrived before the facilitator and so we began the introductions without them. It was encouraging to observe 4 individuals all with varying traits of social anxiety making an effort in their own way to get to know one another. I remember feeling like I didn’t need to be there, other than the initial introduction and for the uplifting experience.