11/09/2024
The Mesa Club supports recovery from addictions and traumatic events. We provide an inviting and supportive environment where people in recovery can heal and help one another. We are dedicated to furthering personal recovery. We honor and respect all 12-step groups and other recovery and support groups by placing a high value on Hope, Acceptance, Service, Unity, Honesty and Integrity.
The Mesa Club is a safe place for people to learn and grow in their recovery. People are free to be who they are, free from judgment and criticism (except from your sponsor!).
This does not mean, however, that people can be rude, abusive, impolite, or vulgar toward one another. Our programs and sponsors teach us to be patient, tolerant, and kind toward others. Please remember this as we go into the holiday season. Some people may be struggling and need a little extra grace. Some may not know they are taking their anger or fear out on others. Maybe that is the person sitting next to you, perhaps that is you.
If you see someone struggling to self-regulate their emotions and acting in a way that does not promote the values of your recovery program or the Mesa Club, please take a minute to KINDLY talk to them. Maybe that means you step out of a meeting to have a conversation with them. Maybe that means speaking up when someone is having an outburst during a meeting or a prayer. Please do not allow this kind of behavior in your meetings or in the time before and after a meeting.
Feeling unsafe at a place that is supposed to be about love and kindness is horrible. What if that was your son, sister or spouse being treated with hate and anger? What if the person treating others was your daughter, brother or family member? How would you feel? Maybe the siren song of their addiction is louder than the peace that recovery offers today. Maybe they need someone to listen, cry on a shoulder or just help them decide what the next right thing is for this moment.
If you are the one needing extra support, talk to others in the group. Call your sponsor. Get a sponsor. Read the book. Go to another meeting. Talk to someone after the meeting. Ask for help. We are all here to help.
What can a group do if someone is repeatedly causing trouble at meetings? First, a group can ask that person to leave the meeting for the day, week or month. Have a group conscious meeting and decide as a group, what is best for the health and safety of the group. Let the Board know your actions. If the person causing trouble is physically violent, the police may need to be involved. The Board will support a group decision to refuse entrance to an individual for the sake of the group's safety and security.
Bottom line: If you see something, say something. Don't let it go unaddressed.
We are all family at the Mesa Club and deserve to be treated with respect, kindness, grace and love.