Online Meeting Info: 10/14/2020

We are always trying to make the online meeting experience a little better here at Colonie DBSA. In an effort to do so, we’re going to try a different video/teleconferencing platform. Sorry to keep changing it up on you on. We’ll probably get this all figured out just in time to resume meetings in person 😉

Here’s the relevant info:
As always, our meetings begin at 7pm every Tuesday except for holidays & situations out of our control. In any event, we will always post here if a meeting is going to be canceled.
The website to go to: https://meet.google.com/dwv-yxun-zjy
If you would prefer to call in, the number is (424) 290-0262 & the PIN is: 829288419# . Even if you are not going to use video in the meeting, I highly recommend joining the group through the website. The phone number is long distance & the audio quality through the website/app is much better, generally speaking.
The room will open at ~6:45pm.

If you have any questions, please email me at JoshColonieDBSA@gmail.com or text/call me at (518) 380-6576. Please do not call me after 6:45pm, as I will be getting the meeting prepared.

Ongoing Online Meeting Info

Here is the link for this week’s meeting & all future online meetings unless stated otherwise:
Colonie DBSA Meeting on WebEx
The password is what the letter “S” in DBSA stands for (seven letters, all lowercase). The meeting starts at 7pm & the meeting room will be open at 6:45.

Click the above link on your computer or mobile device will prompt you to download the WebEx application, if you do not already have it. If you already have the WebEx application & you wish to manually enter the meeting code, it is: 126 276 5062 (same password as above).

If you would like to call in, the following dial-in phone numbers may be used:
1-646-992-2010 (NYC) or 1-415-655-0001 & the PIN is the touchtone number equivalent of the above mentioned password (7 digits). Please be advised that these are NOT toll-free numbers & long distance rates do apply if you do not have free nationwide calling plan on the phone you are calling from.

If you have any questions, please email me at JoshColonieDBSA@gmail.com or text/call me at (518) 380-6576. Please do not call me after 6:45pm, as I am getting the meeting prepared.

New Online Meeting Info (08/18/2020)

Here is the link for this week’s meeting & all future online meetings unless stated otherwise:
Colonie DBSA Meeting on WebEx
The password is what the letter “S” in DBSA stands for (seven letters, all lowercase). The meeting starts at 7pm & the meeting room will be open at 6:45.

Click the above link on your computer or mobile device will prompt you to download the WebEx application if you do not already have it. If you already have the WebEx application & you wish to manually enter the meeting code, it is: 126 276 5062 (same password as above).

If you would like to call in, the following dial-in phone numbers may be used:
+1-646-992-2010 (NYC) or +1-415-655-0001 & the PIN is the touchtone number equivalent of the above mentioned password (7 digits). Please be advised that these are NOT toll-free numbers & long distance rates do apply if you do not have free nationwide calling from the phone you are calling from.

Thank you for your patience in getting this free videoconferencing platform & a very special thank you to fellow facilitator, Sarah, for kindly fronting the money for this service until we can pay her back with donations. If you have any questions please email me at JoshColonieDBSA@gmail.com or text/call me at (518) 380-6576. Please do not call me after 6:45pm as I am getting the meeting prepared.

Today’s Online Meeting Info (08/11/2020)

Here is the link for this week’s meeting:
https://meet.jit.si/AdverseBasesExistAround
There is no password. As always, the meeting starts at 7pm & the meeting room will be open at 6:45 or slightly earlier.

All you need to do to join the group is click on the above link. If you wish to use the mobile apps, which does have more features available than joining via your web browser, you can use the following links:

Click here to download the Jitsi iOS app for the iPhone & iPad.

Click here to download the Jitsi Android app.

If you would like call in, the dial-in phone number is: Dial-in: (512) 647-1431 PIN: 1997 0174 51# . Please note: we have had issues with Jitsu’s dial-in phone system appeared to be overloaded or not operational, in the past. We are working on a solution. I apologize for this issue & I am trying to develop a workaround. In the meantime, if you have difficulty calling in, I suggest going to the group webpage: https://meet.jit.si/AdverseBasesExistAround & join the group that way. No registration is required & you can disable the video option when you join the meeting if you do not wish to use that function.

Thank you for your patience in getting this free videoconferencing platform to work for us as we don’t have money in the budget for a premium videoconferencing platform. If you have any questions please email me at JoshColonieDBSA@gmail.com or text/call me at (518) 380-6576. Please do not call me after 6:45pm as I am getting the meeting prepared.

Today’s Online Meeting Info (08/04/2020)

Here is the link for this week’s meeting:
https://meet.jit.si/AppropriatePsychologiesAccommodatePredominantly
There is no password. As always, the meeting starts at 7pm & the meeting room will be open at 6:45 or slightly earlier.

All you need to do to join the group is click on the above link. If you wish to use the mobile apps, which does have more features available than joining via your web browser, you can use the following links:

Click here to download the Jitsi iOS app for the iPhone & iPad.

Click here to download the Jitsi Android app.

If you would like call in, the dial-in phone number is: (512) 647-1431,
PIN: 847 751 784#
. Please note: we have had issues with Jitsu’s dial-in phone system appeared to be overloaded or not operational, in the past. We are working on a solution. I apologize for this issue & I am trying to develop a workaround. In the meantime, if you have difficulty calling in, I suggest going to the group webpage: https://meet.jit.si/AppropriatePsychologiesAccommodatePredominantly & join the group that way. No registration is required & you can disable the video option when you join the meeting if you do not wish to use that function.

Thank you for your patience in getting this free videoconferencing platform to work for us as we don’t have money in the budget for a premium videoconferencing platform. If you have any questions please email me at JoshColonieDBSA@gmail.com or text/call me at (518) 380-6576. Please do not call me after 6:45pm as I am getting the meeting prepared.

Today’s Online Meeting Info (07/28/2020)

Here is the link for this week’s meeting:
https://meet.jit.si/FriendlyOutragesRiseAny
There is no password. As always, the meeting starts at 7pm & the meeting room will be open at 6:45 or slightly earlier.

All you need to do to join the group is click on the above link. If you wish to use the mobile apps, which does have more features available than joining via your web browser, you can use the following links:

Click here to download the Jitsi iOS app for the iPhone & iPad.

Click here to download the Jitsi Android app.

If you would like call in, the dial-in phone number is: (512) 647-1431,
PIN: 2046 2728 71# . Please note: we have had issues with Jitsu’s dial-in phone system appeared to be overloaded or not operational, in the past. We are working on a solution. I apologize for this issue & I am trying to develop a workaround. In the meantime, if you have difficulty calling in, I suggest going to the group webpage: https://meet.jit.si/FriendlyOutragesRiseAny & join the group that way. No registration is required & you can disable the video option when you join the meeting if you do not wish to use that function.

Thank you for your patience in getting this free videoconferencing platform to work for us as we don’t have money in the budget for a premium videoconferencing platform. If you have any questions please email me at JoshColonieDBSA@gmail.com or text/call me at (518) 380-6576. Please do not call me after 6:45pm as I am getting the meeting prepared.

New Online Meeting Information (07/14/2020)

As mentioned in my last post, we are migrating to a new online meeting platform. We have switch to Jitsi due to time restrictions placed on us by the previous platform.

Here is the link for this week’s meeting: https://meet.jit.si/SocialJurisdictionsKickHalf
Same as previously, the password is what the “S” stands for in DBSA (all lowercase). As always, the meeting starts at 7pm & the meeting room will be open at 6:45 or earlier.

Click here to download the Jitsi iOS app for the iPhone & iPad.

Click here to download the Jitsi Android app.

You should be able to access the meeting on any computer or mobile device by simply clicking on the meeting link (https://meet.jit.si/SocialJurisdictionsKickHalf) but the applications on mobile devices will probably perform better & have more features than accessing the meeting via a web browser.

The dial-in phone number: (512) 647-1431, PIN: 2930 2662 21#

Thank you for your patience in this matter & I apologize in my tardiness in getting this information out. If you have any questions please email me at JoshColonieDBSA@gmail.com or text/call me at (518) 380-6576.

Thursday Meetings Being Discontinued & Other Meeting-related News (06/25/2020)

Effective after tonight’s meeting (6/25/2020), will be discontinuing Thursday meetings due to consistent lack of interest/attention. It is our hope to restart Thursday meetings once we resume in-person meetings.

Regarding in-person meetings, interest expressed in having them is growing & we have been listening. While it is still too early to commit to anything definitively, we do have a potential outdoor venue that is secluded enough to maintain the privacy we have become accustomed to with our meetings. The reason we are choosing an outdoor venue is to reduce the potential for transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19, including the fact that our normal in-person meeting place is just too small to maintain a safe level of social distancing at this time.

When start to have in-person meetings will be having a transition period where we will be having one online meeting once per week as well one in-person meeting per week (weather permitting for the in-person meetings). We will keep you posted as soon as we have more specific information.

At some point in the near future, we will be needing to switch to a different service to conduct our online meetings due to increased restrictions regarding meeting lengths. Most likely, we will be switching to Google Meet away from using Cisco’s Webex service. What this means for you as a meeting attendee is that you will probably need to download another app if you are using a smartphone or iPad, if you wish to use the videoconferencing feature (you can still connect to the meeting via a phone number as with WebEx if you just want to join as a voice chat participant).

Thank you for your patience as we all work through this. If you have any questions please email me at JoshColonieDBSA@gmail.com or text or call me at ‭(518) 380-6576.

Resources to help us get through this period of uncertainty & social distancing (3/21/2020)

Hey everyone. I know this is a very difficult time for many, if not all, of us, so I wanted to share some resources that have been shared with me that will hopefully make this time easier to get through.

Additional online DBSA support groups, beyond the ones that we have set up, are available here: https://www.supportgroupscentral.com/groups_detail.cfm?cid=18
As always, the DBSA national website (https://www.dbsalliance.org) has a wealth of resources as well to help you get through this period of social distancing.

Calm.com has compiled a page chock-full of free resources to help us remain grounded & mindful in these turbulent times located here: www.calm.com/blog/take-a-deep-breath
Even if you have struggled with meditation in the past, I would highly recommend checking out this resource. It is much more comprehensive than just meditations. Even if you just want to listen to someone in a calming voice reading a story, they have that there too. Thanks to Facilitator Sarah for this recommendation.

The last thing I will add here is a DBT Skills Online Class: How to Survive & Thrive in a Pandemic by Tami Green. DBT skills can be an excellent means to help you stay on an even keel & not get all caught up in the panic. This is one place to start acquire those skills & hone the ones that you may already have. Please keep in mind that this is not a free service & our group listing it here does not mean we endorse it or in any way affiliated with this class. We just want to share as many resources as we can so you have choices. The intake session costs $225 & the class is an additional $705 ($680 if you sign up by the end of today: 3/21/2020) for eight classes held weekly beginning 3/24/2020. Thanks to Facilitator Mike for this recommendation.

I hope you found these resource recommendations helpful & if you are aware of any other relevant resources, please feel free to share them with me or in the comments. Thank you & have a good weekend.

Meeting Changes due to Coronavirus (03/15/2020)

As a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation, we will be holding online meetings until it safe to resume in-person meetings. These meetings will happen on the same days & times as usual with the online meeting rooms opening 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting

To access these meetings, follow this link: Colonie DBSA online meeting videoconferencing hosted by Cisco Webex. Please note: this link will direct you to download the Webex application if you don’t already have it on your phone or computer so you may want to wait until you are in a location where you are using wifi/broadband internet access before doing so. That link should direct you to the meeting after you download the app but if it does not, the meeting ID is 163 255 3369 & the password is what the letter “S” in DBSA stands for (all lowercase letters).

If you wish to participate in the group without downloading the app, you may do so by calling 650-215-5226 & entering the access code: 163 255 3369 . Please keep in mind this is a long-distance phone call so regular long distance rates will apply unless you have free nationwide calling in the U.S. Accessing the group by calling the above phone number will only allow audio access in participating with the group. Videoconferencing, text chat, & other capabilities are only available through the use of the Webex app.

If you are having technical difficulties, please leave a comment below or contact Josh at joshcoloniedbsa@gmail.com or text or call ‭(518) 380-6576. Thank you for sticking with us. We appreciate your patience.