One issue our group in year 2 of the CMA SLP had was where to hold our group meetings. We met every single weekend, sometimes both Saturday and Sunday. We tried various locations and here are some of the pros and cons that we found on the various locations and what we eventually settled on:
Coffee Shops
Coffee Shops
We tried meeting at coffee shops but that was a fail. Even though there are many locations to choose from which was great, we had issues with no available plugs, small tables where we were not able to fit all of our laptops and notes, and sometimes not enough free tables at all. We gave up on this fast.
Reserving Public Library Rooms
For a while we would meet at public libraries, where a member would book a room. It was a great set up. Large conference style table, a board where we could write things out, a lot of space for notes and laptops and many plugs. But the amount of time that we were able to reserve the rooms for was limited and we were not allowed to book a room back to back and often we would run out of time and have to leave even though we still had things to address so we had to look for another option. Another con was that since the room was in the Library (and it had poor sound insulation), we were often reminded to keep it down, which was hard when we were having (sometimes heated) debates about topics.
Meeting at a University
Our CMA SLP used to take place at a University for a while, before moving to the downtown location. So one day we just went for a walk throughout the university building to look for some available free space and we found one. Universities sometimes have areas with some tables and chairs and plugs so students can study/spend time there between classes. This was working well but the con was that we had to pay for parking each time we were there and since we met a lot this added up quickly.
Meeting at Someone's Home
We tried meeting in someone's home. This was a great option in that we had plenty of space, we were not limited in time, free parking, snacks available, etc. The con was that someone's family home would get taken over for hours and other family members may not be too happy about this. If you have a large home with a separate area where you can accommodate this without disrupting your spouse/kids/family then I think this is the best option. Group members would bring snacks to share and I think this helped foster a more friendly group environment - the last thing you want is to argue with a bunch of hungry and tired people.
