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South Florida Intergroup |
South Florida Intergroup Step Retreats
The South Florida Intergroup (SFI) has been running step retreats for five years, and its members have retreat experience dating back to the late 1980's. Many of our members have also been involved in the Florida Round Up and other larger recovery events.
We believe in the Primary Purpose as defined by Tradition Five: "Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to the sex and love addict who still suffers." What is more central to the message than that solid, contented, lasting recovery is possible through the Twelve Steps of Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous?
The Twelve Steps have been considered by many the cornerstone of the Recovery Movement. The effects of Step Retreats on those who have experienced them are remarkably positive. The retreat activities that the S.F.I. has refined encourages each participant to work through a comprehensive twelve-step guide. Most participants make significant progress through steps appropriate to their current depth of sobriety during the weekend event and leave with the materials necessary to continue further through the steps, leading to a more lasting and gratifying recovery life.
We believe that in addition to public information functions and publishing of information about meeting, a primary function of an intergroup is to facilitate the carrying of that message. Every year, the South Florida Intergroup has at least one step retreat in Florida.
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Step Retreats to Go
In 2008, the South Florida Intergroup unanimously adopted a motion to pioneer Step Retreats to Go, a service to S.L.A.A. groups and intergroups wishing to have their own annual step retreats. See the flyer.
Why?
Not all areas have the resources and experience to host a successful S.L.A.A. step retreat, whereas the South Florida Intergroup has both resources and experience, recognizes the need to share, and is willing to seed this vital aspect of recovery to other areas outside of South Florida.
What?
You can indicate the interest of your group or intergroup in this service through S.F.I.'s General Correspondence page, and we will help you determine which, if any, level of support is right for your area.
How?
Three levels of support are available to groups and intergroups interested in fostering growth in their local S.L.A.A. Community.
- Sponsorship - S.F.I. handles almost everything
- Facilitation - S.F.I. sends a Retreat Facilitator with materials
- Support - S.F.I. provides information and materials
Where?
The South Florida Intergroup will sponsor weekend retreats, featuring the back-to-basics approach to the Twelve Steps, anywhere in the Continental United States provided that the requesting group or intergroup provider a place for the Facilitator to sleep, provides transportation to and from the airport, and distributes an appropriate quantity of flyers for the event for at least two months in advance.
Which?
The S.F.I. Has three times voted unanimously to use the Sex and Love Step Recovery Booklet as the guidebook for their Step Retreats because it leads retreat participants through a clear and basic twelve-step approach that covers codependency, love addiction, sex addiction, and anorexia. Other materials, including the S.L.A.A. basic text and various other S.L.A.A. and A.A. literature can be used as well.
When?
You can schedule the Twelve Step Retreat with the South Florida Intergroup well in advance of the event.
Recommended Cost Criteria for Weekend Step Retreats
It is recommend that the total package cost is kept below $200. If attendees have to book their own room and find their own food except for Saturday dinner, it is recommended that the registration cost (which would then include only Saturday dinner, step materials, and basic facilitator travel costs) is kept below $100.
The South Florida Intergroup recommends that hosting intergroups avoid charging more than cost for retreats to place Traditions Five and Seven above other concerns. The below formula can be used to roughly break even if the attendance is toward the lower end of the expected range.
n is the minimum number of attendees reasonably expected
c is the cost of the facility per person
f is the fixed cost total, including things like facility-required insurance, meeting rooms, outreach costs, and basic facilitator travel costs
v is any additional variable cost per person, which includes things like step materials and hospitality snacks or beverage
r is the projected break-even registration fee
The formula is
r = (c * n + f) / (n - 1) + v
If more people show up than the minimum number expected, it is customary to split any overage among the groups and intergroups involved to support future events, outreach to professionals, delegate travel, and other such expenses.
Because a large portion of the registration fee is made up of fixed costs, it is recommended that a fairly large amount be budgeted for outreach, which includes printing and mailing costs.
Recommended Timeline
With events, outreach makes the difference between a nice time and life-transforming event, which is good, to an event that transforms the depth of recovery of an entire region, which is better. Sometimes the good is the enemy of the best. These are the South Florida Intergroup's recommendations for minimum outreach based on years of experience with recovery-based conferences, retreats, and round-ups.
Confirm the date and the appropriateness of the site four (4) months in advance. Avoid holiday weekends when families get together. Check online sources for US, banking, school, Christian, Jewish, and other holidays as appropriate.
Confirm flyer design and content three and a half (3 1/2) months in advance.
Circulate flyers by parcel mail, email, phone, and web site three (3) months in advance.
Confirm three (3) months in advance twenty (20) members (and their contact information) willing to make a road trip to a meeting with sponsees or newcomers to do retreat outreach once per month during each of the three remaining months.
Event Outreach is Important
Once you have a contract with the venue, outreach is the most important planning activity.
The question we hear all the time is, "Is it appropriate to have a newcomer at a Step Retreat?" It's absolutely appropriate. In fact, the best possible introduction to S.L.A.A.'s program of recovery is through a step retreat, and the initial introduction to the fellowship part of recovery will be among the finest. Our Primary Purpose, as defined by Tradition Five, is to carry the message. Absolutely target newcomers and early-timers alike.
We've had unindoctrinated people show up for step retreats inappropriately dressed and, without having heard a single word from us about triggers, watched them go change into something appropriate just because of the aura of so many serious (but fun-loving) twelve-step seekers in one room together. The energy is sobering.
How do we get great participation in the event? After all, the more people who participate, the more people who receive a strong SLAA recovery message, and it is efficient. The amount of effort to put on a retreat for fifty people is only slightly higher than the effort to put on a retreat for ten people. So how do we drive up the numbers? Great outreach! That's what works. There are some general outreach lessons we've learned that follow.
What is Outreach?
Event outreach in the world of twelve-tradition-oriented fellowships is a bit like marketing a product or service, with some important additional constraints: anonymity, non-affiliation, and straightforwardness. In most other respects, the rules are the same.
The central constraint of anonymity, as defined in Tradition Eleven and Tradition Twelve, is to not have any media personalities. This means that the name of the facilitator is generally not published. There might be male and female contact people for the event, whose names are generally limited to a first name and last initial, and that's it. Checks are generally paid to the order of the intergroup.
Non-affiliation, as defined in Traditions Six and Ten, states that S.L.A.A. not partner with other organizations, but we can cooperate with them and rent from them. This means that registration flyers, web notices, emails, and materials generally do not mention the causes of other organizations or promote the venues at which events are to be held.
Straightforwardness is not outright stated, but is implied in the attraction-not-promotion part of Tradition Eleven. This means that, unlike many marketing techniques used in contemporary capitalistic enterprises, S.L.A.A. does not sensationalize its message or its events.
Other than these three constraints, in most other respects, the rules are the same. It is wise to work to get as many targeted impressions as possible over the six months prior to the event, right up until the last day. An impression can be thought of as one exposure of a message to one person. The message generally contains five key things.
(1) the event's name
(2) the dates
(3) the benefit to the viewer
(4) the location
(5) how to register
By targeted is meant that the viewer of the impression is either an S.L.A.A. member, a potential future S.L.A.A. member, or a potential referral source such as a therapist, member of the clergy, or treatment center program manager.
The Event Flyer
A good flyer is informative, clear, single-paged, and colorful, but not so colorful that it requires lots of ink.
It is a good thing to encourage early registration. The event flyer is a key element to make this happen. The flyer should have a registration section that can be filled out and sent in with a check.This makes it easy for intergroups, groups, newsletters, and individuals to get everything necessary into the hands of prospective attendees in one simple operation. Setting up a merchant account for credit card processing on line and in person is also very beneficial. Giving a discounted registration before a certain date is also recommendable. It is important to keep the registration section of the flyer very short. We recommend just number of people attending, name(s), phone number(s), mailing address, and email address(es). You can survey people at the event if you want more information, like sobriety date. Anything that slows down or causes hesitation during the registration process is an impediment to attendance.
Also encourage preregistration in general using sentences like, "Please register by <the date one week before the event> so that we can make proper arrangements for food and materials." Some event hosts have scholarship programs to allow those with lower incomes to attend.
Even though both early registration and preregistration may be encouraged, accept walk-ins as long as the venue will permit them. The more people receiving a strong recovery message, the better. This is a case where more is truly better, as long as there are resources to support the added attendance.
Say in the flyer what intergroup or group sponsors and/or hosts the event. If the event is annual, emphasize that by saying, "Third Annual ...," or something similar. Title the event in such a way that makes the where, what, and which year clear and strong, "Colorado Step Retreat '09," or "London Step Retreat '07." People need a way to distinguish your event from other events. The strength of the event label adds to the strength of the outreach.
The flyer should talk about what the retreat can do for the person reading the flyer. These are some examples.
- Strengthen recovery
- End chronic relapsing
- Bring inner peace and serenity
- Motivate significant progress through the steps
- Get people unstuck with the step they are on
- Great help for sponsors
- Great fellowship for everyone
- Get away from the daily grind
Discourage lateness at the start of the event and discourage people coming and going throughout the event. The flyer can stress the importance of being prompt for the first scheduled group meeting of the event. It is wise not to offer any discounts or partial registrations for those who can't attend the entire event. Part of what makes the event so magnetic and powerful is the level of commitment required of the attendees. Keep the bar high.
Place a web address on the flyer for additional information. This way, you can amend the body of information related to the event as you go. You may also wish to provide a map to the event. A well-designed web page is also proof that the event is being hosted properly and will encourage participation.
Checklist of Outreach Activities
Here are the key points for outreach activity.
- Make the flyer, employing the above wisdom as needed, get it approved, and disseminate it as early as possible.
- Get the flyer up on as many recovery-related web sites as possible.
- Email every person that has opted into receiving event notices, attaching the flyer, containing a link to the web page, and asking them to forward the email.
- Print several hundred flyers and mail bunches of them to neighboring groups, intergroups, and individual members who are service-minded.
- Call everyone up and ask them to announce the event at meetings and make sure the flyers get into the hands of newcomers.
- Encourage sponsors to take their sponsees.
- Do it over and over again for months before the event, and give it one last solid, high-energy push in the last two weeks.
Electronic outreach is important. The SFI often works with the hosting intergroup to put out a bulk email notice with both HTML and text parts using email addresses of people that have opted in to receive event notifications. There is also the SLAASupport Google Group, the F.W.S. web site, the F.W.S. Newsletter, the Journal, and the Call Squad, which is part of the Conference Intergroup Communication Committee.
By far, the most effective outreach mechanism is the road trip. A newcomer and an early-timer drive out together to a meeting with some flyers. The newcomer is encouraged to make an upbeat announcement about the event and about step retreats in general, saying that the two of them drove out to let the group know. They stay around after the meeting to chat, making sure that everyone interested is personally handed a flyer. Some flyers are left with the group for later meetings. This has the highest registration conversion rate of any method, but it takes commitment. Of course, the commitment will improve the sobriety of the newcomer and the early-timer that take the road trip.
Another Outreach Checklist
Now is always the right time to start ramping up outreach and getting people excited about an upcoming Step Retreat. Here's another outreach checklist.
- What is the Intergroup actively doing for outreach this month?
- Have any further bulk flyer mailings to individuals gone out?
- Have a few dozen flyers been sent to each group recently?
- Have any large groups been visited to make compelling announcements?
- Have the leaders in neighboring intergroups been contacted?Have you sent a notice to everyone in the area with a request that they print the attached flyer and forward the email to their recovery friends?
Facilitator Training
There are five facets to being a good Step Retreat Facilitator.
- Understanding the Twelve Steps is, of course, a prerequisite.
- Understanding how to develop a recovery event is important. A good collection of helpful information is presented above.
- Understanding the basics of running a retreat is important. The second chapter of the Sex and Love Step Recovery Booklet (pending S.L.A.A. Confererence approval) contains a section How to Use This Booklet. The entire chapter could be studied in advance of the event, but the sub-section Notes for Event Hosts and Facilitators is most useful. The appendices of the booklet are designed to provide additional resources.
- Basic leadership skills are very useful. The South Florida Intergroup does not endorse any books that are not Conference-approved or organizations outside of Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, but the following resources are inexpensive and have solid reputations: Reading Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People two or three times, joining Toastmaster's International, studying how the leaders in the New Testament had such a great spiritual impact on those who they met when they were traveling around, and carefully reading Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
- Being encouraging and facilitating structure without controlling is a skill that is difficult to acquire through reading. Codependents Anonymous can help, and there are a few books like Thomas Moore's Care for the Soul that provides some theoretical background, but just working with larger groups, watching them make what seems like a series of mistakes, and learning to letting go and appreciate the beauty of the human growth processes is a key to effective facilitation.
The best time to train a future Step Retreat Facilitator is during an actual step retreat. It may be best not to decide on who should train as a future facilitators until the Step Retreat is in progress. A current Facilitator can choose from those who clearly exhibit the appropriate aptitudes to stand in as Facilitator for various sessions on Saturday to help them get their feet wet.