“The only requirement for membership is the desire for healthy and loving relationships” (Tradition Three). It’s important that all people are able to access meetings. Yet, this often does not happen due to restrictions in the physical environment. As a group, to avoid unconsciously preventing those who wish to access our meetings, but cannot, we remind ourselves of the group’s primary purpose of carrying the message to all codependents who still suffer (Tradition Five). Therefore, we seek to make our meetings as accessible as possible to members with disabilities as many people who have physical limitations may be discouraged from attending or returning to a meeting. In this section, we share experience, strength, and hope and suggestions on how meetings can support these newcomers before they enter the doors of a meeting and when they come to one.
We also seek to be responsive to the needs of individual members. Some meetings may be held in places with limited parking. If so, we might encourage those without mobility issues to park farther away. Some meetings may be regularly attended by a number of disabled members. If so, we might choose to reserve a few seats on the aisles or near the doors.
New situations arise all the time, and it may be the case that an accommodation for one type of disability interferes with another, such as on issues of parking or lighting. For example, one member may need low lights for chronic migraines, another may need bright lights for a visual impairment. We recommend that accessibility be a regularly discussed item during business meetings, especially when new needs arise.
Finally, we remember that our members, whether able-bodied or disabled, attend because they seek healthy and loving relationships. We seek to never make assumptions about the needs of others, first asking fellow members if they need assistance before offering it. It is important that we do not put our hands on people or their mobility devices without permission. Examples of actions to avoid without direct permission include taking the arm of a person with a visual disability, moving a walker, or pushing a person in a wheelchair.
Physical Impairments
When choosing a meeting location, we proactively seek spaces accessible to those with physical disabilities. As we seek to make our meetings as welcoming as possible, some of the questions we can ask include:
Hearing Impairments
Too many people stop going to CoDA meetings because they cannot hear what is being shared. Accommodations can be made within meetings to assist these members in understanding what is said. Some suggestions from CoDA members with hearing disabilities to other CoDA members:
Visual Impairments
If a member with a visual impairment comes to a meeting, there are many accommodations that may help. Asking the member about what might help them is often the best route. The Co-dependents Anonymous text is available electronically (on Kindle) and may be a good option for multiple accommodations, for those who cannot read, either for visual or other reasons, as well as for people who need large print. This is an area that we hope expands in the near future to allow for accessibility of all materials to all members, through additional electronic literature and Braille texts, for example. If you have ideas or resources to share, please go to the Submissions link or email outreach@coda.org.
Additional Meeting Options
Online or phone meetings are available for all members and may be an excellent option for members who are unable to attend a face-to-face meeting. Groups should remember that this does not take the place of the group’s responsibility to make their meeting as accessible as possible. If you know of a member who is unable to attend due to being homebound, for example, please share these options. They can be found on the Find a Meeting page, by searching for “phone” or “online” meetings at http://locator.coda.org/.
FEEDBACK & SUBMISSIONS FOR THIS PAGE: The Outreach Resource Guide (ORG) is a work in progress which depends on contributions from you, our fellowship members. Please submit suggestions and materials by going to the Submissions page for further instructions.