|
New
Petaluma
CA
LifeRing on Fridays
The latest LifeRing is at the
Mary
Isaak Center
in Petaluma.
Center case manager Tina Cilenti wrote of the unusual and wonderful
origins of this latest meeting:
I am a case manager at a place called the Mary Isaak Center in
Petaluma. We are a homeless shelter for
single men and women (and sometimes couples) but more than that, we
are a housing program. ... We
recently started a Lifering meeting here at our center (thanks to
one of our transitional housing residents [X]) and everybody is
loving it. My background is in substance abuse treatment, and
after I began working here one of the things I wanted to work on
were the recovery options here. I teach a Relapse Prevention
class on Saturdays, and when I approached my supervisor about
Lifering after reading about it on the web he said “great, can you
start one?”. I then enlisted the help of [X], with whom AA has
just never really resonated, and the rest is history. Well,
recent history. J
Tina writes that the meeting is at Friday
evenings at 6:15. She
concludes, "... we’d love to have some “more experienced”
Lifering’ers join us, as well as new members."
The Mary Isaak Center is at
900 Hopper St. in Petaluma. For more information,
contact Tina at (707) 776-4777 ext. 113 or via
e-mail.
[5/10/08]
|
|
Second
Victoria
BC
LifeRing Begins May 10
Following on the success of the first
LifeRing meeting in Victoria on Wednesday
nights at the Fairfield
Community Place there is a second meeting
starting up. This meeting will be on Saturday nights at 7:30pm at
Fairfield United at the corner of
Fairfield
and Moss. The address is 1301 Fairfield Road.
The first meeting will be on May 10th 2008. The
entrance to this meeting is on Moss Street at street level. Check for
signage. For more information on LifeRing in Victoria or to get involved in this recovery
group please contact Michael Walsh at(250) 920.2095 or via
email. [4/28/08]
|
Listen to Michael Walsh on
Nanaimo
Radio, Noon Thursday, April 17
People
First Radio, the community radio of Nanaimo, British Columbia
on CHLY, 101.7 FM, will be interviewing LifeRing convenor Michael
Walsh on Thursday, April 17.
The show is at noon.
Check out the flier for more details.
Out-of-area folks can listen on-line
using the CHLY WebCast
Audio Links. [4/16/08]
|
|
LifeRing comes to
Langford
BC
on May 7
The second meeting of LifeRing Secular
Recovery in the southern Vancouver Island
region will begin in Langford on May 7, 2008. Meetings will be held
every Wednesday at 7pm at the Pacific Centre Family Services
Association at
2849 Peatt Road in Langford.
For more information, contact Clyde Fries at (250) 384-0830
or via email. [4/16/08]
|
|
Walnut Creek
(CA) Tuesday
and Thursday LifeRings Move
The Tuesday and Thursday evening LifeRings
in Walnut Creek,
California
have moved to the Kaiser Permanente Campus at
1425 S. Main Street.
The meetings are from 7:30 to 8:30 in the Walnut
Building, Room 2A.
[4/14/08]
|
|
LifeRing is being fully
Embraced in Victoria
Victoria convenor Michael Walsh has
reported a variety of interesting things going on in
Victoria.
For full details, check out his posts in the
LifeRingConvenor Yahoo News Group.
Here's just a sample.
LifeRing is listed on the
Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) Community Services
Directory.
Their
Alcohol and Drug Services (ADS) clinic took one month of
detailed research on LifeRing before the counselors and the
coordinator collectively recently decided to stock our brochures and
suggest LifeRing to their clients.
Publicity for LifeRing has pushed the latest Victoria meeting to 36
participants. There
should be one or more new meetings running in the southern
Vancouver Island
area shortly. [4/13/08]
|
|
Jim Ringland becomes
LifeRing Secretary
The LifeRing Board of
Directors has appointed Jim Ringland from
Oakland, CA to fill
the vacant Secretary position.
The bylaws state "7.1.3. The Secretary shall comply with the
duties required by the law, shall keep minutes of Board meetings,
and shall have such other responsibilities as the Board may
delegate." Jim brings a
broad background: technical professional with a PhD in Statistics,
chief executive officer for another small and currently inactive
non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dealing in land use and wildlife
issues, and a bit over one year past his last drink of alcohol.
Jim is currently the convenor of the Wednesday Berkeley
Workbook Study meeting and assists with this website.
(I manage these bulletins!)
[4/8/08] |
|
LifeRing Recognition in
Ontario Hospitals...
In late March, representatives from The
Brampton, Ontario (Canada) LifeRing, Garry Mehlhorn
and Dave Ashworth (with help from John Guimar), met
with the Addiction Counseling group of the
William
Osler Health Centre
organization, which supports of 3 hospitals and a series of
outpatient clinics in the area.
The purpose was to seek equal footing with 12-step programs
regarding referrals. The
presentation went well.
LifeRing is on now on the approved list.
And the next step will be to start talking to the other
hospitals and treatment centers in the region.
[4/7/08, updated 4/8/08]
|
|
...as a Fellow
Ontario
Mutual Aid Group
Affiliates with LifeRing
Garry Mehlhorn, from the Brampton Ontario
LifeRing is also associated with
Addictions are Us, a secular mutual help organization similar to
LifeRing, which conduct three meetings in the area.
Addictions are Us was formerly C.A.S.T. (Come and and Sit Together).
Some in the area may know the organization by that name.
Encouraged by the new connections mentioned above, Garry
proposed those groups affiliate with LifeRing.
Garry wrote the LifeRing service center:
"I believe that this would benefit both
organizations. On our side it would improve the number of
referrals to the groups, thus ensuring a steady stream of new
members, which are the lifeblood of this type of group. I can
see it benefiting the LifeRing organization just by increasing the
number of meeting sites in Canada by 3 (to start)."
The groups have gone ahead.
Garry reports,
"The deciding factors were the ability to
maintain our current meeting structure and the approval at the
William Osler group of hospitals. The existing support
structure in the LifeRing network was also helped a great deal."
Addictions are Us uses a "Recovery Skills"
format. Each meeting has
3 sections. There is a discussion on one of list of standard
topics, a carry-over discussion from the previous week, and third an
open discussion much like “How was your week”.
The new meetings are at 10 AM Tuesday in
Brampton
at St.
Paul's
United
Church (30 Main Street South),
7:30 PM Thursday in
Clarkson at Christ
Church (1700
Mazo Cres), and 10 AM Sunday in
Guelph at the West End
Community Centre 21 Imperial Rd South.
For more information, contact Garry Mehlhorn at 905-320-1703
or via email.
[4/7/08, updated 4/8/08]
|
|
Publicity Pays Off in
Victoria
BC ...
And an Invitation
LifeRing convenor Michael Walsh has
generated lots of publicity for LifeRing
Victoria
BC area. Recent
bulletins have pointed to articles in the
Victoria Times-Colonist and in several smaller newspapers from
the BC local news group including the
Saanich News, the
Oak Bay News, and the
Goldstream News Gazette.
Michael reports it is really paying off.
Last Wednesday the Victoria meeting had 30
people. That's really newsworthy given this was only the
area's ninth meeting: Michael launched the
Victoria LifeRing on January 30.
Do you have a LifeRing meeting success
story? Has LifeRing been
in the news in your area?
The LifeRing Service
Center would love to
hear all about it.
[3/29/08]
|
|
A Path to Recovery
in Victoria
BC
As mentioned below,
Michael Walsh has now encouraged the Times Colonist newspaper of
Victoria, British Columbia, to pick up on LifeRing:
... Cameron Delacroix is an outreach worker with
the Umbrella Society. He says, "There's a million different paths to
recovery from addiction, and the more things that are available to
people, the better. It's (LifeRing) had good success in other places
and we're very happy it's here in Victoria."
"George Lowery, acting co-ordinator for Vancouver
Island Health Authority's Withdrawal Management Services, agrees.
"The more options we can give a person in any stage of their
recovery, the better. Will it be an answer for some? Yes. For
others? No."
Thus
wrote reporter Joanne Hatherly in
this article from the TC's March 24 edition.
The TC is the oldest daily newspaper in western
Canada and is the only daily on southern Vancouver Island. It
attracts a daily paid circulation of around 72,000.
Michael
also reports that the
Victoria
meeting is going splendidly.
The
earlier newspaper coverage has brought out many new faces.
Michael write, "... the energy was great!"
And there may be more Victoria area meetings on the way.
[3/25/08]
|
|
LifeRing in the News
in Victoria
BC Area
Removing God from the recovery equation headlined articles in
the Sannich News and Oak Bay News last Friday.
Both are local papers in the Victoria, British Columbia, area
"For people seeking a support group to help
them through their recovery from addictions,
Victoria
finally has an alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous. While the 12
steps of A.A. have helped millions of people, it’s not the right fit
for everyone, said Michael Walsh, who recently started a different
type of support group in Victoria."
writes reporter Roszan Holmen.
LifeRing Convenor Michael Walsh notes
several other local papers, including the Victoria Times Colonist
are picking up on LifeRing.
Michael in an e-mail note to the LifeRing Service Center
wrote simply, "The phone started ringing this morning."
[3/17/08]
|
|
Portland OR LifeRing
moves to Sunday
Convenor Sam Elliot reports the Portland OR
LifeRing will move to Sunday at 7:00 starting in April.
The location remains the same: the URS Club at
17200 S. E. Stark Street in the TV room. And through March, the meetings
continue on Wednesdays at 6:00. For more information,
contact Sam at (503) 929-9184 or via
email.
[3/17/08, updated
3/19/08]
|
|
New Day and Place
for
San Rafael CA LifeRing
The San Rafael LifeRing is now on Tuesday
at 7:00 in the new Bayside Activity
Center at
718 Fourth Street in downtown San Rafael.
It's located between Lincoln and Tamalpias on the north side
of Fourth. [3/17/08]
|
|
LifeRing Flowers
Thursdays in Fresno CA
LifeRing is coming to
Fresno, CA on Thursday evenings from 8 – 9 pm,
starting March 20. The
meeting is at the
Kaiser Permanente Medical
Center,
7300 N. Fresno St.
(Fresno St.
and Herndon Ave.)
in the Redwood Conference Room (Second Floor).
For more information contact convenor Leslee W. at
(559) 227-2788
or via e-mail.
[3/14/08]
|
|
HELP!
Substitute
Oakland
Noon convenor
needed for 3/5/06
We need a substitute convener this
Wednesday, March 5, for the
Oakland, CA meeting from 12:30 - 1:30 PM.
It is at the Kaiser CDRP,
969 Broadway, Room 5.
Convenors need 6 months clean and sober and a willingness to help
others.
If you can fill-in for this one day, please contact the
regular convenor, Larry G., at 510-299-1281 (cell) or via
email.
[3/3/08]
|
|
Placerville
CA LifeRing
begins February 25
LifeRing comes to
Placerville
this Monday, February 25, at 8 pm.
It is at the
Gates Recovery Foundation,
2810 Coloma
Streeet.
[2/22/08]
|
|
Memorial for
Ingrid Wilhite
Ingrid Wilhite, who died just a couple of
weeks ago, was an active LifeRing member.
She volunteered her time by videotaping the 2006 LifeRing
Congress and editing the videotapes onto DVD. A memorial will
be held this Saturday, February 23, from 2-5 at the
LGBT Community Center,
1800 Market Street, San
Francisco. A
Bay Area Reporter article on Ingrid can be found
here. And check out
this flyer for more on the
memorial. [2/18/08]
|
|
The Santa Rosa
CA
LifeRing is back
The
Santa Rosa
Tuesday evening LifeRing is back on the schedule!
The meeting begins at 6:30 in the Jack London Room of the the
Sutter Medical Center,
3325 Chanate Road.
Look for the older building that says "hospital" right
by the flagpole. For
more information, contact convenor Laurie Sullivan at (415)
283-5355 or via e-mail.
[2/13/08]
|
|
Tuesday San Francisco
LifeRing Returns at 1:00
The Tuesday San Francisco, CA meeting is coming back, now at 1:00.
It's at the Kaiser Permanente Chemical Dependency Recovery Program,
1201 Fillmore Street.
Check signs for the room.
[2/8/08] |
|
New Location for
Green Bay
WI
LifeRing
Convenor Tom K. reports that Green Bay WI
LifeRing will move to the Green Bay Area Unitarian Universalist
Fellowship at
1641 S. Commanche Ave, Suite G, in Ashwaubenon.
The meeting remains on Thursdays at 7 pm. For more
information, contact Tom at (920) 499-9431 or via
email. [2/1/08, updated
2/8/08]
|
|
Recovery by Choice in
Berkeley
begins
Feb. 20
|
Wednesday, February
20 will be the first weekly meeting of a new
Recovery By Choice
Workbook study group at Herrick
Hospital,
2001 Dwight Way in
Berkeley
CA.
Meetings begin at 7:45 in the conference center meeting room
in the basement (level A).
Convenor Jim. R. will follow the 13 week
Short Format Study Outline that workbook author Marty Nicolaus
discussed last year in the Convenor's Blog.
The over-all purpose of the study is for each participant to
build their Personal Recovery Program.
Weekly topics are free-standing, so participants can join any
time. For more
information contact Jim at 510-658-4668 or via
e-mail.
[1/21/08]
|
|
LifeRing Comes Alive
in Victoria
BC Jan. 30
LifeRing in
Victoria
will have its inaugural meeting on January 30th, 2008!
The meeting is in The Family Room of the Fairfield Community
Association at
1330 Fairfield Road
in Victoria.
The 7:45 Wednesday meetings are in
safe, quiet, and wheelchair accessible
location. For more
information, contact convenor Michael W. at (250) 920-2095 or via
email.
[1/16/08, time corrected 1/17/08]
|
|
Looking for Kindred
Spirits in Manhattan
Prospective
convenor Shawn B. is looking to start a new meeting in New York.
The meetings would be held in Manhattan,
probably on the Upper East Side,
although Shawn has also spotted a few locations downtown which might
serve the purpose well.
If you are interested contact Shawn via
e-mail.
[1/16/08]
|
|
Looking for Kindred
Spirits in
Prescott
AZ
Emmett W. in
Prescott
AZ
wants to start a LifeRing meeting and wants to hear from other
people in the area who are interested. He can be contacted at
928-273-6389 or via
email. [1/14/08]
|
|
New San Diego
CA
LifeRing getting closer ...
Convenor Louise T. reports the new
LifeRing meeting in San Diego is getting closer to fruition.
As suggested back in November, it
will be held at the Kaiser Permanente facility at
3420 Kenyon St. This LifeRing will
meet on Wednesday night, with a start in early February.
Watch this page, or contact Louise T. via
email directly, for late-breaking news! [1/14/08]
|
|
Second Vallejo CA
LifeRing begins Jan. 14
A new LifeRing is beginning at the Kaiser Chemical Dependency
Recovery Program,
800 Sereno Drive, Vallejo, California.
This late afternoon meeting will begin at 4:30.
Convenor John D., who also convenes the Tuesday Benicia,
California
meeting, can be reached at (707) 746 7124.
[1/13/08]
|
|
Vacaville
CA
LifeRing begins Jan. 17
Kaiser Vacaville Conference Room C will be
the site of a new Thursday evening LifeRing, from 7 to 8 pm.
The address is
3701 Vaca Valley Parkway.
For more information, contact convenor Don M. at (707)
344-4085 or via e-mail.
[1/13/08]
|
|
Victoria
BC Newspaper
Reminded of Recovery Choices
"... Some people
prefer a divine intervention with God in AA while many others prefer
human intervention. Just like there are many newspapers available in
Victoria that benefit the "choices" of a wide range of
readers, there are several ways in Victoria to beat
addiction.
"... One such way is
LifeRing, which is helping thousands around the world in a
non-religious setting."
 So
wrote Michael Walsh in his letter to the
Victoria British Columbia Times Colonist after
the paper carried
this article that essentially
equated alcoholism recovery with AA.
For Michael's
whole letter, check out
this link to the newspaper
or
this screen shot.
[12/29/07]
|
|
Third Denver
LifeRing
starts Wed., January 2
A new weekly LifeRing meeting is scheduled to
begin Wednesday, January 2 at 6:00 pm in the library of the
Unitarian church at 14th and Lafayette (1400
Lafayette Street) in Denver, Colorado. For
more information, contact convenor will be Brad M. at 303-328-7408.
[12/24/07]
|
|
New Friday LifeRing
in Walnut Creek, CA
Friday, January 4
will be the first meeting of a new LifeRing in
Walnut Creek,
California.
Convenor Carola Z. reports the group will meet from 6:00 - 7:00
pm Fridays at Weyland Consultation Services, 2930
Camino Diablo, Suite
110.
It's a medical and office
complex and is wheelchair accessible.
Please, no food or drink in the room and no smoking in or
outside his building. [12/24/07]
|
Added Telemeeting this
Saturday, Dec. 29Don S. reports that the
our new Tele-meetings are becoming a big hit.
So he's added one more on Saturday, December 29, 2007 from 1
pm - 2:30 pm CST (1900 - 2030 GMT),
For more details, see the bulletin entry
below. We hope to
work out a new Tele-meeting listing page in the next few weeks: watch the
home page. [12/24/07]
|
Dial into a LifeRing
Telemeeting (Updated)Don S.
(CoachDonSul) has scheduled a series of LifeRing telemeetings and
invites you to attend.
Three meetings are upcoming:
Sat.
12/22/07 1 pm -
2:30 pm CST (1900 - 2030
GMT)
Sat. 1/05/08
1 pm - 2:30 pm CST (1900 - 2030 GMT)
Mon. 1/07/08
7 pm - 8:30 pm CST (0100 - 0230 GMT)
Updated!
How does it work?
You dial into a long distance number (in our case, in
Minnesota), enter a six digit pass code, and get connected to a
big party line where you can hear and be heard by everybody.
It is free, except for the cost of the call. Each meeting is
limited to about 25 participants. If you are interested, drop
Don an email
and he will send you an invitation with everything you need
to get going.
What happens in a telemeeting?
When you join, the convenor will hear a chime and will ask
who's joining. You
respond with something like, "This is Sue in South Dakota".
After introductions and an opening statement, the convenor
will introduce a suggested topic, which may, of course, shift as we
go around the virtual room.
If you want to share, say your name and location (for
instance "Don S. in Texas") and wait for the convener to recognize
you. While LifeRing encourages
crosstalk, in a tele-meeting, only one person really can be heard at
a time. Waiting for
recognition keeps the discussion manageable. Don
has described more of what happens in the in
LifeRing Forum.
His messages are in the "General" section under the Dec.
11, 2007 entry "LSR
Tele-meetings Experiment".
The total meeting time is flexible. Don
likes to wind things up so that the total meeting is about one hour
in length, but the meeting can run over by another 30 minutes before
we have to surrender the phone lines. [inserted 12/18/07,
updated 12/19/07]
|
Victoria, BC Meeting
Under Construction
Prospective convenor Michael W is in the preliminary stages of
organizing a new LifeRing meeting in
Victoria, British Columbia.
If you might be interested, feel free to give Michael a call
at 250 920 2095 or via
email.
He is presently gauging responses from individuals and the
treatment community and hopes to secure a meeting room shortly.
[12/17/07]
|
 LifeRing
Fund Drive
Reaches Out to All
LifeRing's first-ever fundraising
letters are in the mail this week. The organization is on a roll
with starting new meetings and reaching referral sources, and needs
to raise money to fuel its growing momentum. Recent LifeRing
Press customers, convenors, and others with current addresses in the
LifeRing Service Center database can expect to receive a
two-page flyer and/or a
letter in an envelope within a few days. For people who don't
receive a mailing, there's a new Donate
Now button on the Start Page; it leads to a page that outlines
the available online donation options. LifeRing is a 501(c)(3)
charity and donations are tax-deductible. |
 Sacramento LifeRing
Starts December 13
The first LifeRing in Sacramento CA will
start on Thursday evening Dec. 13 2007 at 6 pm in the conference
room of Strategies for
Change,
4330 Auburn Blvd. on the North side of the city. All
interested persons are welcome. For more information please
contact Jo G., founding convenor, via
email. Here is a
flyer for the meeting. |
Sausalito CA
LifeRing Now at 7:00
Convenor Gillian E. reports the Tuesday
evening Lifering meeting at the
Alta Mira Recovery Center
at
125 Bulkley in Sausalito, CA has a new start time of 7:00 p.m.
The meeting is open to the community, as well as to residents of the
Alta Mira inpatient program. The gate for the complex will be open
- for outsiders to get in - from 6:45 until 7:15. [12/1/07] |
 Save
the Date: May 31 - June 1 2008
Seventh Annual LifeRing Congress
Save the last weekend next May for the
2008 LifeRing Congress, the seventh annual get-together of LifeRing
participants and convenors, happening in Berkeley CA. As
always, the event will feature a combination of education,
socializing and business. Come for the reception Friday night, spend
all day in lectures and workshops Saturday, join the banquet
Saturday night, and participate in the Delegates' Assembly Sunday
morning. Program ideas and contributions are solicited.
Volunteer organizers are wanted. Contact the LifeRing Service
Center, service@lifering.org
or 1-800-811-4142. [11/29/07] |
|
Telford PA
LifeRing
Moves to Souderton
The Telford PA
LifeRing will move about a mile to a new home in Souderton at
A Place
for Possibilities,
220 Main Street (Route 113), in Souderton.
The meeting is at 7:30 on Fridays.
For more information, contact John R at 215-264-1474 or via
email.
(11/29/07)
|
|
LifeRing Forming
in Benicia CA
A new LifeRing is starting up in Benicia CA
on Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. at
St. Paul's Episcopal Church,
122 E. J Street. The
first meeting will be December 4.
Convenor John D can be contacted at 707-746-7124.
(11/29/07)
|
LifeRing Forming
In San Diego CA
A new LifeRing is forming in San
Diego, CA, and will probably meet at the Kaiser Permanente facility
on Kenyon St. Details are being worked out. To offer
assistance in getting the meeting started, or to get information,
please contact Louise T. via
email. (11/27/07) |
Albuquerque LifeRing
Moves to Wednesdays
The LifeRing meeting in Albuquerque NM
has a new day and a new time, its convenor Mary S. has announced.
Instead of Thursdays, the group will now meet Wednesdays. The
new meeting time is 6:00 P.M. The location remains the same:
Anna Kaseman Presbyterian Hospital,
8300 Constitution Ave NE. Take the Main Entrance and go to
Conference Room B. |
|
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2007 Bulletins |
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