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.

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.

In-person Colonie DBSA meetings are canceled for the time-being as our meeting location has been closed due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. Please sign up to receive notifications of updates to our website at https://wp.me/padGqu-Q as soon as we post them. We are working on some sort of alternative meeting format which will most likely involve teleconferencing.

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Sorry for leaving this announcement for so late but I wanted to be as informed as I could be about tonight’s driving conditions before I made a decision about tonight’s meeting.

Tonight’s meeting will happen as scheduled, as it appears the threat of freezing rain & icy roads is no longer an issue on all major roads in the greater Capital Region. If you are coming from beyond that area, please thoroughly check road conditions between where you are traveling from & the meeting location before heading out. Regardless of where you are coming from, please drive carefully & use your best judgment to decide if you should be out on the roads tonight. Take care.

• Josh

This Thursday’s meeting, we are planning on having a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner student observe our meeting to better understand how the peer support model works in practice. This individual will be at the meeting strictly to observe & will not be recording the meeting in any way, shape, or form. As always, the privacy & confidentiality of our groups’ attendees’ is one of our top concerns & we would never allow that trust to be betrayed. No information about any group attendees will be taken out of that or any other group meeting.

While I did announce this at last Thursday’s meeting, I know that group was smaller than usual, so that is why I am taking this opportunity to announce the possibility of this student observer being in attendance. Our group members’ comfort & ability to share what they need to in group is of the utmost importance, so if there is anyone uncomfortable with this arrangement or has any questions, please contact me (Josh) by phone (518-380-6576) or email ( JoshColonieDBSA@gmail.com ) & changes will be made.

Thank you for your understanding. I think it is important that the next generation of providers know what it is that our groups do & how they can better help us achieve our goals.

We just wanted to remind everyone that all meetings this week and next will happening as usual including those that fall on Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve! Mental health issues don’t take breaks for the holidays & neither do we!

Tonight’s meeting is cancelled due to inclement weather. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you know a group member that usually attends Tuesdays but may not check these updates, please let them know. Thank you & be safe out there.

Just a reminder that there is no group meeting this Thursday, November 28th due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday but the Tuesday meeting (tonight) will go on as scheduled. We hope to see you tonight but if we don’t, have a happy turkey day!

Despite the wintry conditions earlier today, the roads in the Capital District are clear now so we will be having group tonight. Please drive carefully & use your own discretion as to whether you feel safe driving to the meeting. Just because the roads are clear & not icy here in Colonie, they may not be where you are coming from. Be safe & we hope to see you tonight if you can make it.