First Meeting of LSR in Pittsburgh PA 

LSR in Pittsburgh went very well last night. We had three participants and expect a few more next week. Our meeting time is 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and we're smack in the heart of the university-medical center district.

We've agreed to set this up as an after-work sort of deal and opted for the one-hour schedule to keep things brisk & upbeat, so the meeting has a "just another part of the day" feeling. Additionally, we agreed the Wednesday night scheduling is ideal -- a middle-of-the-week boost for other activities we're all pursuing.

On a larger scale, the fact of the meeting actually occurring makes it possible to unleash an aggressive publicity & name-recognition campaign here in a city of 1.7 million people where the concept of "secular" recovery is virtually unknown.

This means (1) I'll be contacting medical editors of major media to introduce the concept of LSR, and (2) be meeting with medical directors of principal mental health facilities here to gain their understanding and/or endorsement and attempt to get our meeting listed at their outpatient facilities as an official aftercare resource. Currently in Pittsburgh, all this activity goes by default to AA/NA.

An eventual third phase will be contacting Adult Probation services to get our meeting approved as a recognized rehabilitation activity for the substantial court-ordered DUI population.

I apologize to all my invisible friends for having taken so long to make this meeting happen. But at least we're under way, at last, and will be available for the very stressful holiday season that holds such misery for those in the drinking-using life.

Thoughts? Comments?

Best wishes - Bill (in Pittsburgh)  10/12/00