Starting a support group may seem like something that someone else should do. Well, think again. If someone else had the initiative to start it, then it would already exist. If there already is one in existence but the time or place is too inconvenient for you, then start another one. If it is too inconvenient for you, chances are that it is also too inconvenient for others.

If you are considering starting a support group, then you probably already have the need for the support group in the beginning stages of thought. You know that the support group will need to be for people that are looking for support due to divorce, addiction, unemployment, illness, or any one of numerous other topics. See you have one of the hard decisions already made.

Now you need to find others that would be interested in a support group on that topic. If you happen to know several other people that are experiencing the need for support on the topic, then you already have a few possible members. Depending on the topic it may seem that finding others may be difficult if you don’t know others that have the same needs. But stop to consider where you would most likely meet others with the same interest or need. That is the perfect starting point.

Before you can get too involved in getting members, you need to have an organizational meeting. This should be planned for someplace that will be convenient but not someplace that any others that attend would feel out of place or be unlikely to be willing to discuss the need for the support group. Your home, the library, or a church would make an excellent choice for this first organizational meeting.

You don’t want to go to the expense of renting a place when you don’t know if anyone will even show up. Starting a support group is not a guarantee that crowds of people will gather to participate. And since the first meeting is an organizational meeting, you want to try to find those that you would feel comfortable working with to get the group started.

At the organizational meeting you will want to set up your plans for the group. You need to decide how often you will meet. The length of each meeting as well as the starting time are also some necessary questions that the organizing meeting should answer. Don’t forget to decide upon a place. The other decisions that will need to be made will be on the type of leadership, how and when leadership will change, what the support group will actually provide for and ask of the members.

I know that all sounds like hard work, but the purpose of the group is to help others while helping yourself so isn’t it worth a little extra work? Don’t worry, things will fall into a routine once the leadership members get used to their roles. It takes time to feel comfortable in the new role of leadership so don’t feel bad if you are not taking to it like a fish to water.

After all the organizational meetings are completed, your group will be ready to publicize to get new members. You won’t be left totally on your own in that task. A new article on that topic will be coming soon.