Community Guidelines are the boundaries we hold for our calls - Live Calls, Support Groups, Workshops, group chats, community forums...you name it! These agreements help us hold a space that is as safe and sustainable as possible, and enable us to create our unique Monument culture and community. Part of being in community means that occasionally, people might share outside of the agreements, and the job of our moderators to call us back in. Our team of moderators regularly revisit these agreements so that we are continually refining the way we serve our community.
We ask that you support each other by honoring the following principles:
Uphold confidentiality
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Whatever is said here, stays here. Take the wisdom you learn from others, but leave personal details behind.
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If you do decide to speak to fellow members outside of Monument, we ask that you please refrain from discussing outside conversations in Monument spaces. Monument is not responsible for any interactions that take place off-platform.
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Call into groups from a private space, so partners, friends, or family don’t see or hear the confidential group space. Exceptions are made for specific calls like Making Progress Together, which is intended for families of Monument members.
Show up sober
- We welcome members at every stage in their journey and support goals for both sobriety and moderation or harm-reduction. However, we require that you are not under the influence while participating in a group. This means not using any mind or mood altering substances before or during a group session. If you are under the influence you may listen with your camera off and your microphone muted.
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Please refrain from smoking or vaping on camera.
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Please make sure your background and clothing are free from alcohol/substance related products/advertising.
Make space for others
- Please do not talk over or interrupt one another. Exercise awareness and consideration of other members.
- We ask that you limit shares to 23 minutes. Group is intended to spark discussion, and no one individual should be dominating the conversation. Moderators may kindly ask you to wrap up your thoughts if others have reflections and responses of their own to share.
- If you have a thought while someone else is speaking, please use the chat feature to comment instead of interrupting their share.
- Be aware of your surroundings, background noise, or other distractions. Keep your camera off if you are involved in other activities. Place yourself on mute when you’re not speaking
Be kind and respectful
- At Monument, we lift each other up. There is no room for discriminatory, judgmental, hateful, violent, threatening, insulting, or exclusionary language.
- We do not allow expressions of attraction, requests for romantic relationships, sexual advances or innuendos, or any lewd remarks. It is not appropriate to comment on another member’s appearance.
- Please limit the use of profanity.
- Avoid promotional posting such as social media accounts, businesses, products/services, or personal blogs. These distract from our common mission and will be removed.
Honor identity-based spaces and practice inclusion
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Monument hosts several identity-based groups BIPOC, Women, Men, LGBTQIA+, and others). Please only attend groups that are relevant to your own identity and needs.
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One of the ways we respect gender diversity is by sharing pronouns at the beginning of group calls. Please refrain from assuming someone’s pronouns unless they’ve been explicitly stated.
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Monument is inclusive of goals for sobriety and moderation or harm reduction. Please respect others’ goals. Everyone’s journey is unique and valid.
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We recognize that racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, ageism, fatphobia, ableism and more are all lived experiences that are known contributors to alcohol use. We ask that you validate the feelings of individuals in marginalized communities, and be mindful of not minimizing anyone’s lived experiences.
Share experiences, seek curiosity with others
- Oftentimes, members come to group for support, not solutions. When in doubt, we encourage you to acknowledge others’ feelings and be curious instead of providing advice.
- Use I-statements when giving feedback, speak from your own experiences like “In my experience...”, “what works for me is...”, etc.
- You are welcome to share your own treatment experience in a group. However, please do not seek or share medical advice. If you have specific medical questions, please consult your physician or therapist. Support groups do not constitute therapy or other healthcare services.
- While this is a place to share hard or challenging experiences, we ask that folks refrain from sharing explicit details of violence and trauma.
- We also ask that members refrain from sharing details of others’ experiences, such as disclosing the mental health status of those not present.
Take care of yourself
- If triggering or overwhelming conversations arise please do what you need to take care of yourself. You can turn off your camera, mute the call, or walk away to take a breath, or leave the call.
In case of emergency...
This is not an emergency medical/crisis service. Please visit the following link for a list of emergency and crisis services or call 911 https://support.joinmonument.com/hc/en-us/articles/360040717114-Are-you-experien cing-a-crisis-or-emergency for crisis services
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